Over the past ten years, the Town of Florence has been involved in numerous legal challenges with Florence Copper (and its predecessors). For informational purposes only, the Town has consolidated these documents and posted them to this web page as a location where interested members of the public can view the Town’s basis for pursuing these matters.. The basis of these matters is the Town’s desire to protect its citizens and the drinking water aquifer for Florence. There are three topics of interest:

1. Zoning – The Town of Florence argues that the underlying zoning on the property is for residential use and not for mineral extraction. The property owner requested a zone change in 2007, requesting that the mining right be removed from the development and single-family residential homes be built in its place. This case was heard in the Maricopa County Superior Court and is currently on appeal to the Arizona Court of Appeals.
2. Aquifer Protection Permit (APP) – Under Arizona law, an Arizona Aquifer Protection Permit (APP) is required for any facility that discharges pollutants to the groundwater. The two key requirements of APP are: (1) Meet the Aquifer Water Quality Standards (AWQS) at the point of compliance, and (2) Demonstrate Best Available Demonstrated Control Technology (BADCT). Florence has been particularly concerned that the new method proposed for mineral recovery is an unproven and untested technology.
3. Underground Injection Control Permit (UIC) and Aquifer Exemption Permit (AEP) – Statutes and regulations prohibit any injection into an aquifer that “allows the movement of fluid containing any contaminant into underground sources of drinking water.” Before mining (and other) companies can injection pollutants into the ground, they must seek permits from the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Florence Copper has been allowed to operate under a permit originally issued to another company in 1997. Since 1997, the landscape of the town of Florence has changed dramatically, including the addition of Anthem at Merrill Ranch, in direct vicinity to the aquifer injection points. The Town believes that the EPA should revisit its Aquifer Exemption in light of this changed landscape.

According to Russell Hallbauer, the CEO of Taseko Mines, the technique being used at the Florence Copper project has had setbacks, and hasn’t been done too much across the world.

“Things are going — we had some setbacks and we’ve had to regroup. But that’s all part of the learning process. You know? We have these deep wells. This hasn’t been done too many times in the world with this kind of configuration. And so we’re learning how you disperse the acid solution inside the ore body, how you move it up, how you control the water gradient, and how you recover the pregnant solution. So it’s a complex technical issue.”

Transcript of CEO Russell Hallbauer YouTube video

CEO Russell Hallbauer Interview YouTube video

Barbara Rodriguez-Pashkowski, Chair of the firm’s Real Estate and Commercial Sections, concentrates her practice on environmental law, including WQARF, CERCLA, UST matters, due diligence, air quality, water quality, and RCRA. She brings to her clients years of experience including state and federal Superfund and litigation, UST compliance and appeals, air quality and water quality permitting and regulatory compliance, asbestos compliance, RCRA regulatory compliance, environmental rule writing and legislation. Barbara works with various federal, state, and local governmental entities and private companies on a broad range of environmental issues.

Prior to joining Gust Rosenfeld, Barbara worked in the Environmental Enforcement Section of the Arizona Attorney General’s office as Chief Counsel for the Air, Game and Fish, Underground Storage Tanks and Agriculture (AGUA) Unit. She represented the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality in administrative hearings, litigation and litigation coordination, rule writing, legislation, the negotiation of complex environmental settlements, and training for its state Superfund, UST, State Assurance Fund and air quality programs. Barbara was recognized in 2020 as a Top 100 Lawyers in Arizona, Arizona Business.

Cathy has over 30 years of experience in defending Arizona communities against legal claims. Since 2018, she has worked at Sims Mackin, where she is responsible for litigating in state, federal and appellate courts, a wide variety of civil matters for cities and towns involving land use, zoning, contracts, civil rights, employment and police misconduct. Her unique experience has led her to design and conducts training for numerous Arizona cities and towns, primarily for law enforcement personnel. Cathy received her J.D. from the University of Arizona, has received her Six Sigma Green Belt through Motorola, and has completed the Harvard Law School Mediation Program. Before joining Sims Mackin, Cathy served the communities of Tempe, Mesa, Tucson, Oro Valley, and Pima County in a variety of legal roles.