A co-developer of the massive HidroAysen hydropower project in Chile said last week that the project will not move forward in its current state. The controversial project—a joint effort between companies Endesa Chile and Colburn involving the construction of dams on two of Patagonia’s rivers—had come to a halt in June, when a Chilean ministerial committee cancelled the permit that would have allowed construction to move forward.

Last week, the Chilean government rejected plans to construct the highly controversial HidroAysen dam project, which would have built dams on two of Patagonia’s rivers. Opponents, organized into a coalition known as the Patagonia Defense Council, had fought the project from the outset, fearing that it would endanger both the environment and the local communities.

Mining company Barrick Gold has reached a preliminary agreement with local indigenous peoples in Chile that may help clear the way to reactivating the Pascua-Lama mine in the Andes. The local Diaguita communities had long opposed the mine, saying it threatened their water supply and polluted nearby glaciers, and in May 2013 the Chilean environment minister blocked work on the project on the grounds that Barrick had violated its work permit.

Lower house members in Chile have proposed a bill that would require mining companies to use desalinated water from the Pacific Ocean to run their copper mines in Chile. According to a high-level mining industry executive, communities in Chile's Atacama, the world's driest desert, often feel they must compete with mining companies for freshwater; under the new bill, mines that use more than 40 gallons of water per second would be forced to integrate seawater into their operations.

Large man-made reservoirs can increase the intensity of rainfall and may damage flood defenses, according to a study to be published in the journal Hydrology. Scientists studying data from 50 rain gauges in Chile found that rainfall patterns were much higher around bodies of water than in similar areas without them.