A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by opponents of the Rosemont Mine that had accused the Forest Service of violating two federal laws in its handling of the mine issue.
The dismissal by U.S. District Judge Frank Zapata was granted with prejudice, meaning opponents can't file these complaints again.
The dismissal came with the agreement of all parties - the U.S. Forest Service, Rosemont Copper, which intervened on the Forest Service's side, and mine opponents Farmers Investment Co., Save the Scenic Santa Ritas and the Center for Biological Diversity.
"Our company has contended all along that the lawsuit lacked merit," said Kathy Arnold, Rosemont Copper's vice president of environmental and regulatory affairs, in a prepared statement. "This dismissal shows that there was no real basis to sue the Forest Service and attempt to disrupt approval of Rosemont's project."
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Opponents had contended the Forest Service violated the Federal Advisory Committee Act in its handling of 19 meetings of 17 cooperating government agencies and other groups about the open-pit copper mine, proposed in the Santa Rita Mountains southeast of Tucson.
Rosemont Copper and its consultants were invited to the meetings but opponents and the general public were not, because the service officials said they needed Rosemont Copper's information and opinions because it is the applicant for the federal permit to mine.
Last June, Zapata refused to grant opponents a preliminary injunction that would have delayed release of the service's draft environmental impact statement for the mine. At that time, Zapata wrote that he didn't think the opponents had made a valid legal case but that he did see "an appearance of impropriety" in how the meetings were handled. The judge did not comment further in his new dismissal.
The lawsuit also contended the service violated the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by refusing to turn over thousands of pages of documents requested.
The Forest Service later said in court documents it eventually turned 27,000 pages of documents over to the Center for Biological Diversity, while withholding 1,000 more.
In his dismissal, Zapata awarded the biological diversity group $6,000 in attorney's fees from the federal government.
Attorney Roger Flynn, who represented opponents, said they were able to collect attorney's fees on the grounds that the litigation was a catalyst that prompted release of the documents.
Randy Serraglio, a conservation advocate with the Center for Biological Diversity, said the group felt it won a partial victory in that it forced public release of thousands of pages. He said the documents were very important in helping opponents write public comments criticizing the draft environmental impact statement on the mine.
"The point was to stop this cozy relationship between the Forest Service and the company," said Serraglio.
In response, Rosemont Copper president and CEO Rod Pace blasted the center.
"Frivolous lawsuits, like the one put forth by extreme radical environmental groups like the Center for Biological Diversity, do not accomplish anything except waste taxpayer dollars which could be better served to manage our nation's resources," Pace said in a written statement. "We anticipate the Forest Service's Record of Decision this year to approve the Rosemont Copper project."
Coronado National Forest Supervisor Jim Upchurch said the service can't comment on the litigation. The Forest Service will follow its requirements under FOIA "in response to inquiries as we receive them," Upchurch said.
