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Residents urge Sahuarita council to block or delay Copper World mine and potential data centers; request hydrology, traffic studies
Summary
Dozens of residents used the council's call-to-the-public to press for study and transparency related to the proposed Copper World mine and rumored industrial data centers, naming water use, air quality, traffic, wildlife and community character as central concerns and asking the council to seek hydrological and traffic studies and resolutions from the town.
At the June 22 meeting of the Sahuarita Town Council public comments focused overwhelmingly on the proposed Copper World open-pit mine and proposed large data-center development. More than a dozen residents urged the council to delay or oppose approvals until the town and county have independent hydrological and traffic analyses and public access to key project information.
"If the Copper World project is permitted to proceed and the four planned open pit copper mines destroy the Santa Rita mountains, will you continue to reside in the greater Sahuarita community?" asked Mel Sway during the call to the public. Multiple speakers described the mountains as culturally and ecologically valuable and warned of long-term groundwater depletion, increased truck traffic, damage to air quality, and wildlife displacement.
Speakers asked the council to demand more from developers and utilities before permits are granted. "I have repeatedly requested a hydrological study...a traffic study...resolutions to voice our displeasure and to monitor, mitigate and guide the environmental damage," said one resident, urging the council to direct staff to pursue those studies and to push back on utility approvals tied to the project.
Data centers: separate but related concerns emerged about administrative zoning decisions that residents say fast‑track potential 200‑acre data centers with limited public notice. Several speakers said the town's reinterpretation of a 1995 zoning provision allowed large industrial data centers to be permitted "by right" without adequate public disclosure; they asked the council to require clear public notice ahead of the July 21 general-plan ratification and to consider more stringent local due-diligence policies like those adopted by the county.
Council response and context: Council members acknowledged the concerns and described ongoing outreach with the Arizona mine inspector and the Arizona Corporation Commission on energy transmission questions. Staff and the council said they are listening and may consider resolutions, but several residents said formal, timely studies and firmer procedural safeguards are still needed before major project approvals move forward.
Why it matters: Residents emphasized that local government has limited direct authority over some state and federal approvals (mining and transmission permitting), but they asked the council to act where it can — by demanding transparency, requesting studies, and using zoning and local approvals to protect water supply, public health and community character.
