Reporting H.R. 1904 Out of Committee (Passed 26-19. View Roll Call Vote)
This bill would exchange lands between Resolution Copper, the federal government, the state of Arizona and the town of Superior, AZ. The land exchange will created jobs by providing Resolution Copper 2,422 acres for future copper mining while providing important environmental and tribal protections to lands relinquished by Resolution Copper.
Bishop Amendment #033 – Technical Amendment (Agreed to by Voice Vote.)
DeFazio Amendment #046 – Introduce Royalty Payment Requirement (Failed 18-26. View Roll Call Vote)
This amendment would require Resolution Copper to pay the United States annual royalty payments based upon the quantity of minerals produced during the proceeding calendar year. This amendment distorts the balanced and fair land exchange in the bill. Resolution Copper will already pay full market value for the federal land and minerals with an equal amount of land and/or cash. Furthermore, if production exceeds the appraisal estimate, Resolution Copper is required to make up the difference.
Grijalva Amendment #020 – Ensuring Mining Operations Support Local Workforce (Failed 17-27. View Roll Call Vote)
This amendment would require Resolution Copper to maintain the operation center for mining operations, recruit and employ persons that reside in Arizona, establish job training and scholarship efforts to aid local workforce, and requires motorized vehicles and heavy equipment on site to be licensed in Arizona. The company already has an agreement with the town of Superior, has established multiple educational and scholarship programs, must operate and abide by applicable state and federal laws, and will employ many local qualified residents. It is unreasonable, however, to expect a company to entirely purchase and hire from the local area since some goods and experts may not be locally available.
Grijalva Amendment #003 – Require Consultation With Indian Tribes (Failed 19-26. View Roll Call Vote)
This amendment would require government-to-government consultation with the affected Indian tribes concerning issues related to the land exchange. Section 4(c) of the bill already requires traditional tribal consultations and this amendment was structured to prevent or delay the exchange from going forward.
Grijalva Amendment #005 – Sharing of Exploration and Development Data (Failed 19-26. View Roll Call Vote)
This amendment would require Resolution Copper to share exploration and development data gathered with respect to the location and size of the body of ore underlying the Federal land to the appraiser. This amendment is redundant as the bill ensures that the appraisals of the lands comply with the Uniform Appraisal Standards for Federal Land Acquisition and the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice. Furthermore, Sec. 4(d)(1) expressly outlines that appraisals prepared for exchange purposes will comply with the requirements of section 254.9 of title 36, Code of Federal Regulations, which includes mineral reports.
Grijalva Amendment #007 – Modeling of Mining Impacts on Water Resources (Failed 17-28. View Roll Call Vote)
This amendment would require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct modeling of potential impacts on water resources from mineral exploration, development and extraction on the Federal land before consummating the land exchange. This amendment is structured to prevent or delay the exchange from taking place. This information will already be required as part of the Mine Plan of Operations, which is subject to National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) as required by the bill.
* For complete legislative action for the July 13, 2011 Full Committee Markup, click here.
