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Community advocates urge Nogales council to press for transparency in South32 benefits agreement
Summary
A Patagonia nonprofit director urged the Nogales City Council to take a more active, public role in negotiating a community protections and benefits agreement with South32, citing secrecy and community concern about air and water impacts.
Anna Darien, executive director of the Patagonia Area Resource Alliance, asked the City of Nogales on Oct. 1 to push for transparency and stronger protections in a community protections and benefits agreement being negotiated with mining company South32.
Darien said she supports the benefits side of the agreement — including support South32 has provided to schools and local programs — but described the protection measures as “very scary” and criticized the process as secretive. “We don't really know what's in the agreement, what's not in the agreement, what the timeline is,” she told the council.
Darien asked the council to demand a public draft and a timeline that gives residents and countywide stakeholders time to review and offer comments that could “substantively” change the agreement before it is finalized. She said she had heard the agreement could be signed by the end of the year and called that timetable “incredibly rushed.”
Darien also said she was concerned that only one Nogales representative regularly participates in the negotiations and that that person is perceived as favorable to South32. She said that raised doubts about the city’s ability to protect community interests. “It is possible to support this project and still demand transparency in a public process,” she said.
Council members did not take immediate action during the public comment period. No South32 representative spoke at the meeting, and staff did not offer additional details about the status of the agreement during the time Darien addressed the council.
The request from Patagonia Area Resource Alliance places the issue squarely before local elected officials. Darien urged council members to “get involved,” stressing that protections for air and water are necessary so “there is no job that is possible if the air quality and the lack of water makes it impossible to live in this community.”
If the council wishes to act, next steps could include asking staff for a formal update on whether the city has a seat in negotiations, requesting a public release of any draft agreement the city has seen, or directing staff to report back with a recommended public involvement schedule. The council did not set those steps at this meeting.
Darien left contact details and asked residents to review the group's materials and press the council for more transparency.
The council will consider items on its next agenda as its schedule allows; Darien asked members to intervene before any final signatures if possible.
