There has been some speculation over the past few days that  Democratic Congresswoman Ann Kirkpatrick may try to get her “stuck” Resolution Copper Land Exchange bill around the U.S. House Natural Resource Committee, where Arizona Congressman Raul Grijalva apparently has kept it bottled up since last summer in his committee.

The speculation arose last Thursday when Kirkpatrick announced that she had introduced in the U.S. House an improved version of her bill, H.R. 4880, which she is calling the “Copper Basin Jobs Project.” She said the changes should make a major difference in removing any roadblocks for this critical project which would create more than 1,000 mining jobs east of the Town of Superior.

The Democratic freshman Congresswoman from Flagstaff said her new measure would pave the way for the new $4 billion Resolution Copper mine. Kirkpatrick, in a press release, points out there are several key upgrades over previous versions that include calling for a full National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review in advance of the land exchange process getting final approval and ensuring direct consultation with nearby Native American tribes. She said the changes came out of continued dialogue with interested stakeholders in recent months, and adds she has been cooperating with Senators Jeff Bingaman ( D-NM) and John McCain (R-AZ) to bring the various parties together.



For the complete article see the 03-24-2010 issue.

Click here to purchase an electronic version of the 03-24-2010 paper.