The vast majority of the proposed copper mine would be dug by the Rosemont Copper Co., a subsidiary of Canadian-based Augusta Resource Corp., on public land 30 miles southeast of Tucson.

A.E. Araiza / Arizona Daily Star 2006

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People from several East and Southeast area communities concerned about having their own meeting on the controversial Rosemont Mine spoke loudly, and they were heard.

The National Forest Service will hold three previously unscheduled meetings, including one in Vail on Saturday. There have already been three meetings elsewhere — in Tucson, Green Valley and Patagonia — on the potential environmental and social impact of a mile-wide open-pit mine planned for the eastern slope of the Santa Rita Mountains.

Meetings in Sahuarita and the Sonoita area have not yet been scheduled.

"According to the National Environmental Protection Act, they are supposed to engage the public and the communities that are going to be directly impacted by the proposed action," said Vail resident Elizabeth Webb, who pushed for Saturday's meeting.

"At this point, it's about having a voice and having adequate information in order to formulate questions and comments. How can people make comments if they don't have information to make comments on?"

An issue secondary to the location of the initial meetings is the way the sessions are being conducted. Some residents are frustrated the format hasn't included a public comment period.

The issue escalated during the recent meeting in Patagonia, and Forest Service representatives left a half-hour into a two-hour meeting.

"What happens at that point is that emotions are high and getting anything done meaningfully probably would be very difficult," said Heidi Schewel, a spokeswoman with the National Forest Service.

Officials hold these informational meetings for the local residents, she said.

"I think one of the most important things for people to know is that the way they can make a difference in something that's really important to them is to do the written comment process in this environmental analysis."

The Forest Service is now planning three public hearings for sometime in May, Schewel said. During these meetings, people can sign in and have their three-minute comments recorded for the legal record.

Written comments are given equal weight with those made during a public hearing. Comments in either context should be directly related to issues concerning the mine, Schewel said, and not simply on whether someone is for or against the project.

Steve Strom, president of the Sonoita Crossroads Community Forum, is relieved a public hearing is planned. He wonders if one meeting will be enough, however, considering so many want to talk.

"I think it's essential that the Forest Service not only receive the e-mails they will receive regarding specific concerns that we and other groups and individual community members have," Strom said. "I think it's also important that the Forest Service understands the depth of feeling some people have, on both sides of the issue."

Strom said he was distressed over the short notice that was given for the first three meetings. "The communities that will be most affected were given very short notice," he said.

The format at Saturday's meeting in Vail is not a hearing, but includes informational displays and opportunities to ask specialists about the project.

The vast majority of the proposed copper mine would be dug by the Rosemont Copper Co., a subsidiary of Canadian-based Augusta Resource Corp., on public land 30 miles southeast of Tucson.

The use of public lands for private mining is permitted by the Mining Act of 1872. In other words, the Forest Service is compelled to respond to the company's proposal based on mining laws, Schewel said. The federal land would be used mostly for the byproducts of the mining operation, she said.

"We, as an agency, are completely neutral, that is, we're saying we're radically neutral, on the mine," she said. "We're neither for nor against. We're following a process that is detailed for us by law."

Comments from the public can be made throughout the environmental review until a draft of the Rosemont Copper Project Environmental Impact Statement is completed, most likely in March 2009.

After that, a period of public review will run for 45 days, with a final draft and a "record of decision" to be released in November 2009.