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Residents urge Nogales council to demand transparency in South32 benefits-and-protections talks
Summary
A Patagonia-area advocate told the Nogales City Council the draft community protections tied to the South32 mining project remain secret and urged local officials to take a more active role in ensuring transparency and enforceable safeguards.
Anna Darian, executive director of the Patagonia Area Resource Alliance, told the Nogales City Council on Oct. 1 that community members remain uncertain about protections being negotiated with South32 and urged the council to press for public review and accountability.
"We are very scared about the protection side because there is no job that is possible if the air quality and the lack of water makes it impossible to live in this community," Darian said during the meeting's public-comment period. She said residents had been told a draft agreement might be signed by the end of the year but that the public has seen no draft or timeline.
Darian said the negotiation process has felt "incredibly secretive" and asked council members to "take a more active role in advocating for Nogales." She said one person has regularly represented the mayor and council in the negotiations and expressed concern that the representative is favorable to South32 and may not adequately protect the community.
The comment framed the matter as one of enforceable safeguards, not opposition to the benefits that South32 has provided to local schools and programs. "It is possible to support this project and still demand transparency in a public process where everybody knows what is involved," Darian said.
Council members did not take action during public comment. At the meeting, several officials elsewhere on the agenda discussed water, wastewater and mine-related issues, including a separate public presentation on alternative discharge and a later council discussion about mine-related water management; those separate items were not resolved at the Oct. 1 meeting.
Darian urged council members to ensure the public has time to review a draft agreement and an opportunity to submit comments that could meaningfully change its terms. She suggested a public-review timeline and accountable enforcement mechanisms so community expectations—about air quality, water and job promises—are backed by clear, enforceable requirements.
The council did not announce a schedule or public release date for any draft related to the South32 agreement during the Oct. 1 session. The matter may appear again in future agendas or in other countywide proceedings where the mine's community benefits and environmental protections are discussed.
