ADEQ Deadline Air Quality Permit Passes

ADEQ Steve Owens announced the deadline for further challenges to ADEQ's air quality permit for the Carlota Copper Company's proposed open-pit copper mine & processing facility near Miami in Gila County has expired without any additional appeals being filed.

In April the Arizona Court of Appeals rejected a challenge to the permit by Friends of Pinto Creek (FPC). The Court ruled that ADEQ's 2003 decision to renew Carlota's air permit was proper under both the federal Clean Air Act & the state air quality law. The deadline for filing an appeal to the Court of Appeals decision was May 24th. That deadline passed without any further action filed by FPC, Owens said.

"We always have been confident that the permit would withstand any challenge, but it is good to put this matter to rest," Owens said. "This is a strong permit that not only will protect air quality in the area but also enable Carlota to move forward with its efforts to open the mine & create much-needed jobs in the Globe-Miami area."

The permit requires Carlota to employ a variety of water sprays & other methods throughout the construction process to reduce the amount of dust generated by rock crushers, conveyor belts & truck traffic.

The permit limits the facility's emissions of the following pollutants: oxides of nitrogen, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide & particulates as well as sulfuric acid mist from the electrowinning tankhouse & volatile organic compounds from storage tanks & the solvent extraction process.