What This Bill Does
This bill repeals a 2015 law that allowed the transfer of approximately 2,422 acres called Oak Flat to a foreign-owned company called Resolution Copper. The bill also prevents Oak Flat from being used for mining, entry, or mineral extraction. The bill states it aims to protect Oak Flat from foreign mining operations.
Who It Affects
Resolution Copper Mining, LLC (a company owned by Rio Tinto and BHP, which are foreign mining companies). American Indian tribes and communities with cultural ties to Oak Flat. The public, regarding use of federal forest land in Arizona.
Key Provisions
* Section 3003 of the Carl Levin and Howard P. "Buck" McKeon National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015 is repealed entirely (Sec. 4(a)).
* Oak Flat is withdrawn from all forms of entry, appropriation, or disposal under public land laws (Sec. 4(b)(1)).
* Oak Flat is withdrawn from location, entry, and patent under mining laws (Sec. 4(b)(2)).
* Oak Flat is withdrawn from disposition under all laws pertaining to mineral and geothermal leasing or mineral materials (Sec. 4(b)(3)).
What Changes
If this bill becomes law, Resolution Copper can no longer receive the automatic 2,422 acres of Oak Flat that the 2015 law promised. The land becomes protected from mining operations, mineral extraction, and other commercial uses. The withdrawn status applies to valid rights that existed before the bill became law.
Important Definitions
Oak Flat: Approximately 2,422 acres of Forest System land in the Tonto National Forest in southeastern Arizona, commonly known as Oak Flat. Resolution Copper: Resolution Copper Mining, LLC, a company owned by the foreign entities Rio Tinto and BHP.
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION H. R. 1351
To repeal section 3003 of the Carl Levin and Howard P. ‘‘Buck’’ McKeon
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015, and for other
purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 3, 2023
Mr. GRIJALVA (for himself, Mr. SABLAN, Mr. HUFFMAN, Ms. MOORE of Wis-
consin, Mr. GOMEZ, and Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources
A BILL
To repeal section 3003 of the Carl Levin and Howard P.
‘‘Buck’’ McKeon National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2015, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
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This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Save Oak Flat From
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Foreign Mining Act’’.
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
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Congress finds as follows:
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(1) Resolution Copper is jointly owned by two
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foreign mining companies, Rio Tinto and BHP.
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(2) The largest shareholder of Rio Tinto is a
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foreign mining entity, Shining Prospect Private
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Limited Company, that is based in Singapore and is
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owned by the company Chinalco.
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(3) Chinalco is a holding company of the State-
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owned Assets Supervision and Administration Com-
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mission of the State Council (SASAC) of the Peo-
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ple’s Republic of China.
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(4) Rio Tinto has a long record of human
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rights violations and environmental devastation,
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harming Indigenous and other communities around
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the world, including in Australia, Papua New Guin-
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ea, Madagascar, Indonesia, Mongolia, and Namibia.
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(5) In 2020, Rio Tinto used explosives to blow
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up a site sacred to the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and
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Pinikura peoples in Western Australia, including the
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Juukan Gorge Rock Dwellings which have evidence
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of human habitation dating back 46,000 years, re-
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sulting in immeasurable cultural and spiritual loss
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and pain for Indigenous communities.
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(6) Oak Flat is located in the Tonto National
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Forest, which was established in 1905 from the an-
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cestral homelands of American Indians who were
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forcibly removed at gunpoint from Oak Flat and
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other areas of the Forest by the United States Army
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during the 1880s and held as prisoners of war until
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the early 1900s.
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(7) Oak Flat is listed on the National Register
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of Historic Places as the Traditional Cultural Prop-
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erty of Chı´’chil Bi5dagoteel Historic District.
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(8) Despite significant opposition in the United
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States Congress, section 3003 was included as a
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rider in the Carl Levin and Howard P. ‘Buck’
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McKeon National Defense Authorization Act for
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Fiscal Year 2015 (16 U.S.C. 539p) that mandates
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the transfer of 2,422 acres of the sacred Oak Flat
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area to foreign-owned Resolution Copper within 60
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days of publication of an Environmental Impact
13
Statement.
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(9) To maximize shareholder profits through
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the monetization of American resources, foreign-
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owned Resolution Copper plans to use the cheapest
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and most destructive form of mining, block cave
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mining, to develop a large-scale copper mine that
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will obliterate the sacred Oak Flat area and result
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in a crater 1.8 miles long and at least 1,000 feet
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deep, depriving American Indians from conducting
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religious ceremonies and other traditional practices.
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(10) Section 3003 lacks any requirement for
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foreign-owned Resolution Copper to sell the copper
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it extracts from beneath Oak Flat in the United
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States.
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(11) According to the United States Geological
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Survey’s 2023 annual report, over 25 percent of all
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copper mined in the United States in 2022 was ex-
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ported overseas.
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(12) According to a 2020 University of Arizona
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report, copper has consistently been a top export
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from the State of Arizona, with most of it being
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shipped to the People’s Republic of China from the
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Port of Guaymas in Sonora, Mexico.
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(13) Foreign-owned Resolution Copper intends
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to extract copper ore beneath Oak Flat, which will
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be slurried through 22 miles of pipelines and loaded
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onto trains to be likely shipped overseas according to
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the Arizona Department of Transportation.
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(14) Foreign-owned Resolution Copper’s mine
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will deplete, destroy, and poison substantial amounts
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of limited and precious water resources in a region
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that is already suffering from severe water shortages
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by—
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(A) pumping at least 775,000 acre-feet of
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water, which is approximately 250,000,000,000
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gallons over the 40-year life of the mine and is
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enough water to support 140,000 homes annu-
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ally for 40 years; and
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(B) redirecting water from the East Salt
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River Valley, which will comprise approximately
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seventy percent of the project’s groundwater
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that will be used to slurry 1,370,000,000 tons
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of toxic mine waste through approximately 19
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miles of pipelines to a massive toxic waste
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dump.
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(15) Foreign-owned Resolution Copper’s mas-
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sive depletion of local groundwater will cause land
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subsidence in the East Salt River Valley by as much
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as 4 feet, and groundwater level decreases by 199
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feet in some areas.
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(16) Despite the rapidly deteriorating drought
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conditions in the Colorado River Basin, foreign-
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owned Resolution Copper received an allocation of
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over 2,200 acre-feet per year of Central Arizona
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Project water in 2021, while homes across the
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southwest continue to face looming water restric-
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tions due to oversubscribed water supplies.
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(17) Foreign-owned Resolution Copper’s mine
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will result in a permanent toxic waste dump site of
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approximately 500 feet high and 3 miles long, span-
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ning approximately 4,000 acres, in the Gila River
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watershed, which will store 1,370,000,000 tons of
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mine waste and destroy the ecosystem and Tribal
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cultural resources in the region.
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SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
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In the Act:
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(1) OAK FLAT.—The term ‘‘Oak Flat’’ means
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the approximately 2,422 acres of Forest System
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land in the Tonto National Forest in southeastern
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Arizona commonly known as ‘‘Oak Flat’’ and gen-
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erally depicted as ‘‘Oak Flat Withdrawal Area’’ on
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the map titled ‘‘Save Oak Flat From Foreign Min-
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ing Act’’ and dated March 2, 2023.
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(2) RESOLUTION COPPER.—The term ‘‘Resolu-
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tion Copper’’ means Resolution Copper Mining,
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LLC, owned by the foreign entities of Rio Tinto and
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BHP.
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SEC. 4. REPEAL AND WITHDRAWAL.
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(a) REPEAL.—Section 3003 of the Carl Levin and
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Howard P. ‘‘Buck’’ McKeon National Defense Authoriza-
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tion Act for Fiscal Year 2015 (16 U.S.C. 539p) is re-
20
pealed.
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(b) WITHDRAWAL.—Subject to valid rights in exist-
22
ence on the date of the enactment of this Act, Oak Flat
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is withdrawn from all forms of—
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•HR 1351 IH
(1) entry, appropriation, or disposal under the
1
public land laws;
2
(2) location, entry, and patent under the mining
3
laws; and
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(3) disposition under all laws pertaining to min-
5
eral and geothermal leasing or mineral materials.
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Æ
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