[ADEQ Media] ADEQ Issues Tough Water Quality Permit for Phelps Dodge Sierrita Mine near Green Valley

[media@lists.azdeq.gov]

ADEQ Issues Tough Water Quality Permit for Phelps Dodge Sierrita Mine
near Green Valley

PHOENIX (June 29, 2007) - The Arizona Department of Environmental
Quality (ADEQ) today formally issued the water quality permit for the
Phelps Dodge Sierrita copper mine near Green Valley in Pima County.

The permit, known as an Aquifer Protection Permit (APP), provides tough,
new protections for groundwater in the area and incorporates the
requirements of the precedent-setting Consent Order that ADEQ issued in
June 2006, which requires Phelps Dodge to protect the community's
drinking water supply from sulfate contamination.  The APP incorporates
the 250 parts-per-billion (ppb) limit set forth in the Consent Order for
sulfate in drinking water affected by the mine's operations.  This is
the toughest sulfate level that ADEQ has ever included in a water
quality permit.

Elevated sulfate levels attributable to the Phelps Dodge mine have been
identified in groundwater samples collected from wells in the area.
Although sulfate is considered a non-hazardous substance under federal
and state law, ingestion of water containing levels of sulfate exceeding
250 ppb can cause diarrhea and other health problems. 

In addition to the tough sulfate limits, the permit requires controls to
reduce pollutants discharged at the mine, including metals such as
arsenic, copper, chromium, selenium and lead, as well as nitrate,
benzene, and radiochemicals such as gross alpha particle activity,
radium-226 and radium-228.  The permit requires Phelps Dodge to employ
pollution controls at all of the mine's discharging facilities,
including three major drainage areas at the mine, at discharging
facilities in the mill area and tailings impoundments, and at wash
stations used to clean trucks and other vehicles.

The permit also requires Phelps Dodge to maintain about $18 million
dollars in financial assurance.  This is up from $4 million in the draft
permit and is the highest financial assurance ever imposed in Arizona.

The Order requires Phelps Dodge to characterize and mitigate the sulfate
plume, conduct an inventory of wells in the area and ensure that
drinking water provided to area residents meets all applicable drinking
water standards, including the 250 ppb sulfate limit established in the
permit. 

The Consent Order also requires Phelps Dodge to conduct quarterly water
quality sampling and establish a Community Advisory Group to keep
community members informed of the company's activities. The provisions
of the Consent Order now become part of the conditions of the permit.   

"This is a very protective permit that, coupled with the ground-breaking
Consent Order we issued last year, will ensure that the community's
drinking water supply is safe," ADEQ Director Steve Owens said. 

-30-

News media interested in additional information on this or any other
topic concerning the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality should
contact the Office of Communications at (602) 771-2215 or via email at
communications@azdeq.gov.

**********************************************************************
NOTICE: This e-mail (and any attachments) may contain PRIVILEGED OR CONFIDENTIAL information and is intended only for the use of the specific individual(s) to whom it is addressed.  It may contain information that is privileged and confidential under state and federal law.  This information may be used or disclosed only in accordance with law, and you may be subject to penalties under law for improper use or further disclosure of the information in this e-mail and its attachments. If you have received this e-mail in error, please immediately notify the person named above by reply e-mail, and then delete the original e-mail.  Thank you.