Water Quality Permit For Safford's Phelps Dodge Mine

ADEQ Director Steve Owens announced that they have issued the remaining water quality permit for the Phelps Dodge copper mine near Safford in Graham County.

The facility, will operate as an open-pit copper mine, & is estimated to have an 18-year operating life & produce approximately 961 million tons of ore & development rock.

The permit, is as an aquifer protection permit, that protects groundwater in the area by regulating discharges from the operations at the mine including 2 open pits, reprocessing of existing stockpiles on the San Juan property, 1 heap leach pad, 1 process solution pond, 1 non-stormwater pond, 1 evaporation pond, a solvent extraction/electrowinning process plant & other infrastructure & support facilities associated with copper mining.

The permit sets water quality standards & reduces the discharge of pollutants by requiring Phelps Dodge to employ appropriate engineering controls & processes at the areas covered by the permit including the heap leach pad, the excess process solution impoundment, the non-stormwater impoundment & the San Juan evaporation impoundment. The permit also requires Phelps Dodge to conduct quarterly monitoring to ensure that water quality has not been negatively impacted by operations at the mine.

Earlier this month, Owens announced that the ADEQ issued the draft air quality permit for the mine near Safford. A hearing on that draft permit is scheduled for May 25th, at the Safford City Hall Annex, at 808 S. 8th Avenue in Safford at 6:30 p.m. Owens said that barring any unforeseen issues, he anticipates final issuance of the air quality permit to Phelps Dodge before July 1st.