WASHINGTON (CN) — The Environmental Protection Agency failed to respond to objections regarding the approved construction of a heavy metals mine in the Patagonia Mountains, 50 miles southeast of Tucson, Arizona, according to a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday.
The Center for Biological Diversity filed the suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, arguing that by allowing mining company South32 to construct the mine would increase air and water pollution in Santa Cruz County.
Patagonia Area Resource Alliance, a local advocacy group, joined the suit and urge a federal judge to declare the EPA violated the Clean Air Act. The plaintiffs want the court to order the agency to act within 60 days on the groups’ petition to object to the mine’s permit…