Ninth Circuit Upholds Decision Permitting Land Exchange for Arizona Copper Project

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Tuesday rejected all petitions for rehearing in legal challenges against a federal land exchange required for the Resolution Copper project in Arizona. The order upholds a March 13 panel decision that authorized the federal government to move forward with the congressionally mandated land swap, which is intended to advance the development of a major domestic copper deposit.

By declining to reconsider the panel's ruling, the court dismissed the plaintiffs' claims challenging the transaction. The underlying decision allows the transfer of land necessary to access what is described as one of the largest known copper deposits globally.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the land exchange has placed more than 5,400 acres of ecologically and culturally significant land in Arizona under federal ownership. Adam Gustafson, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD), stated that copper is essential for the nation's electrical grid, national defense, energy technologies, and manufacturing, adding that the project supports national security and the economy by developing a domestic supply of the mineral.

The appeal was argued by ENRD Deputy Assistant Attorney General Robert Stander, with the division's Appellate Section handling the appellate proceedings and its Natural Resources Section managing the case in the District Court.

Source