(Left to right) External Affairs manager Simon Chavez of South 32, Santa Cruz County Manager Jesus Valdez, Santa Cruz County District 3 Supervisor John Fanning and Patagonia Mayor Andrea Wood listen in as residents outline their priorities for a Community Protection and Benefits Agreement. 
Patagonia resident Chuck Klingenstein presents his concerns while other residents await their turn at the mic. Seated at right is Nogales Mayor Jorge Maldonado. 
Pam Lemke of Tubac addressed the need for underground power lines as Patagonia’s Ann Gosline looks on.
The March 17 “Community Listening and Engagement Session” for the proposed South32 Hermosa Project Community Protection and Benefits Agreement (CPBA) brought out some 70 local residents and a litany of familiar concerns from the 16 community members who spoke.
The intent of the 90-minute meeting at Patagonia High School was to provide a forum for residents to address the signatories to the agreement—Santa Cruz County, the town of Patagonia, the city of Nogales and South32—and express their opinions on what should be included in it.
Representatives from the four signatories present at the meeting included Patagonia Mayor Andrea Wood, Santa Cruz County District 3 Supervisor John Fanning, Nogales Mayor Jorge Maldonado and Troy Kimball, Lead Communities for South32. Pat Risner, President of South32 Hermosa, was unable to attend due to illness.
Dean Slocum of Acorn International moderated the meeting and explained that the CPBA— originally referred to as a “Good Neighbor Agreement”—would be a legally binding agreement between the four signatories. Its content would be arrived at by consensus, rather than a vote, of the signatories: “Let’s figure out a way to work together to come up with an answer that we can all live with.” He said the signatories have been meeting once a month for about a year, and the process could take years to complete.
A common concern among all the speakers was the impact of South32’s operations on the environment, ecosystems and lifestyle, but given the inevitability of the operation, much of the meeting’s dialogue focused on the substance of the CPBA and the process that goes into it.
“The reason people are a little nervous is there has not been transparency,” said Chuck Klingenstein of Patagonia, the first of 16 speakers. “I know you all are bound by some sort of agreements and handshakes and all that, but that does not help the public. I served in public service for over 22 years, and I’ve never seen such a closed door on process.”
Rio Rico resident Jay Thompson echoed those sentiments. “It’s got to be real,” he said. “CPBAs sound great, but they only work when we have two dialogues, are available, and understandable. We need enforcement, independent audits, community oversight boards and fines for noncompliance. It’s a binding commitment to make sure all of us benefit and we leave this place a better place.”
An offshoot of the transparency issue is a lack of trust in the data relating to South32’s impact on the environment.
Klingenstein said there needs to be reporting to the public “that is unbiased, thoughtful and verifiable. Clear lines of communications that are not scrubbed and sanitized. Disagreements must be transparent to the public to show credibility to the process and the outcomes.”
Multiple speakers called for independent analysts to monitor and report on South32’s environmental impact.
“I’m really uncomfortable with ADEQ’s (Arizona Department of Environmental Quality) use of data provided by South32 for the modeling that was used for the permit process,” said Pam Lemke of Tubac. “This is a clear conflict of interest. This should be coming from independent scientists and researchers who are tasked with protecting the public.”
Martha Fisher of Patagonia asked that financial guarantees be written into the agreement for environmental monitoring, habitat restoration and remediation needs.
“I request that funds be made available from South32 to sample, test and most importantly remediate our drinking water and air quality should they be degraded through their mining,” she said. “Please ensure that you can independently monitor air and water quality and there is a process where the mine will guarantee remediation.”
Lemke, Vanessa Register and Joni Stellar all spoke of the need for stipulations regarding underground powerlines due to wildfire risks.
“High voltage wires should be placed underground to minimize the risk of fire during heat and high winds and to help members of our community continue to be able to afford and purchase homeowners insurance,” Lemke said. “I would urge them to negotiate and insist that we get high-voltage wires underground as they come down off the mountain and in any residential and commercial areas.”
Fanning said he was impressed by the issues articulated by the community.
“I think there were some incredibly valid concerns,” he said. “I was talking to (Mayor Wood) and I said not only is it important to hear what people are saying now, but once you think you have the CPBA, we need to make sure we have transparency, make sure that we inform and continue this process. Transparency over time can build trust, and that’s what we need to focus on.
“It’s important that we listen. One of the things that was pretty evident tonight was the fact that consistently people were saying we need to take a look at our local experts, outside experts and not just rely on one source of information.”
South32’s Kimball declined to discuss the substance of what was presented by the community. “I’m happy for the turnout,” he said.