Rep. Raúl Grijalva is pushing to desperately extend the public input period for the proposed Hermosa Mine Project, Arizona Public Media reports. The Arizona congressman addressed a letter to Randy Moore, Chief of the US Forest Service, citing the needs of the mostly Hispanic and Spanish-speaking local population in his request to give them more time to review and understand the impacts of the mining project which lies a stone's throw away southeast of Patagonia.
The standard 30-day scoping period set forth by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) began recently, with experts gearing up to examine the potential environmental ramifications tied to the project. Grijalva is seeking to tack on an additional 30-60 days, arguing that it's reasonable to undo the traditional timeframe in this case, in order to ensure fair community engagement.
In his plea for more time, Grijalva voiced that "While FAST-41 sets a 45-day time limit on most public comment periods, the statute explicitly allows a lead agency to extend a comment period beyond 45 days for 'good cause'." Grijalva's concern echoes earlier requests from the Town of Patagonia and the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors, which were reported to have asked for a similar extension, according to Arizona Public Media.
The Forest Service will host its initial set of public scoping meetings to discuss the project on May 20 at Patagonia Union High School, and diligently on May 21 at the Hotel Americana in Nogales. The meetings are intended to provide locals with information and an opportunity to voice their concerns. Given the primarily Spanish-speaking constituency of the area, the extra time to dissect the project's details in their language could likely ensure a more inclusive public participation process.
