The Arizona Corporation Commission is coming under strong pressure from business interest groups as it debates a proposed power line for the Rosemont Mine in the Santa Rita Mountains southeast of Tucson.
At a hearing Thursday, officials of the Tucson Chamber of Commerce, Arizona Mining Association, the Southern Arizona Business Coalition and the Arizona Contractors Association urged the commission to overturn a previous decision to allow the introduction of evidence concerning the effects of the mine. A letter to that effect was also submitted Wednesday by the president of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce.
But the commission also heard from a spokeswoman for a planned autism therapy, education and research center who said plans for the nonprofit center are stalled because the facility's 80-acre site is about a half-mile south of the proposed power line route.
The commission took no action Thursday. Chairman Gary Pierce said a final vote on the mine-evidence issue and related procedural matters will take place May 23.
The business leaders said they're concerned about setting a precedent for future developments needing power lines - and about continued delays for the Rosemont project in general.
"We're concerned overall about the long-term effect of the potential impacts of where this is going for the entire industry," mining association president Bob Quick said. "We believe this could potentially jeopardize all manner of mining expansions and new mines in the state."
Further delays in this issue could be interpreted as an abuse of the commission's powers, said David Jones, president and CEO of the Arizona Contractors Association.
"We've lost 108,000 construction jobs in Arizona β¦ and we want our people to go back to work," Jones testified. "Rosemont Copper will be putting $2 billion into construction and we have people who are willing to work and want to work."
But Kelly McClear, who sits on the autism center's board of directors, told the commission the project known as Matterhorn Ranch had started construction late last year but stopped early this year because "we were very concerned about the effects of this line on the people, families and donors," primarily hum from the transmission line and possible impacts of the line's electromagnetic fields.
The nonprofit group organizing this autism center is called MATTER, for MidAmerican Association for Autism Training and Research. It's based in the Kansas City, Kan., area.
"What we intend to do is extraordinary. Nothing like it exists in the state. Many families with autistic members are desperate for resources in Southern Arizona," McClear told the commission. She said later that the center's organizers have raised $1 million for their project, secured permits for it from Pima County and could open by next year if the power line issue doesn't continue to delay its plans.
The commission voted 3-2 in March to allow testimony on the mine's environmental impacts - a reversal of a decision by the Arizona Power Plant and Line Siting Committee. Since then, Tucson Electric Power, which is proposing the power line, and Rosemont Copper have asked the commission to rehear and reverse this issue.
Thursday, Tucson Chamber CEO Mike Varney said the commission had overreached its authority. He said the mine's impacts should be handled by other government bodies with the expertise and background to oversee land use impacts.
"Involvement by the ACC is not only duplication of effort, it will ultimately lead to confusion, contradictions and needless delays," Varney said. "With the economy suffering from unprecedented levels of unemployment, the last thing we need is additional bureaucracy forestalling new business. We need Rosemont. We need the jobs they will create."
But McClear said she came to testify at Thursday's meeting after reading in the Arizona Daily Star the day before about a state law requiring the commission consider plans for other developments "at or in the vicinity of" a proposed power line.
"Clearly we selected the site for its tranquility, away from the urban environment," McClear said. "We know this is appropriate for autism individuals."
But Commissioner Brenda Burns said she didn't understand why someone from McClear's group hadn't raised their concerns earlier, given the years of discussion and debate about this power line.
TEP said it has sent McClear's group letters about the proposed line and posted scores of public notices about it. But McClear said Thursday she hadn't felt like there was an "open door" enabling her to participate in the power-line debate until reading this week about the state law.
Commissioner Paul Newman said he wants McClear's paperwork on the autism center introduced into evidence in the case. Other commissioners said it would be put on the record in some form, although it was left unclear how.
"We've lost 108,000 construction jobs in Arizona β¦ and we want our people to go back to work. Rosemont Copper will be putting $2 billion into construction and we have people who are willing to work and want to work."
David Jones, president and CEO of the Arizona Contractors Association
Contact reporter Tony Davis at tdavis@azstarnet.com or 806-7746.
