ELR Citation: 52 ELR 20056
No(s). 19-17585 and 19-17586 (9th Cir. May 12, 2022)

The Ninth Circuit, 2-1, affirmed a district court ruling that the Forest Service acted arbitrarily and capriciously in approving a mining operations plan for a copper mine in the Santa Rita Mountains. The Service approved the plan based on its conclusion that §612 of the Surface Resources and Multiple Use Act gave the mining company the right to dump its waste rock on open National Forest System land regardless of whether it had mining rights on that land, and its assumption that under the Mining Law the company had valid mining claims on the 2,447 acres it proposed to occupy with waste. The district court found that neither ground supported the approval because §612 granted no rights beyond those granted by the Mining Law and the Service had no basis for assuming the claims were valid. The appellate court agreed and remanded to the Service for further proceedings.