SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, Ariz. (KGUN) — After a week of rising concern from Patagonia residents over a proposed landowner agreement, Hermosa Mine operator South32 responded to criticism that the agreement would take away private well water rights.
At the heart of the issue is a voluntary agreement offered to local landowners that, according to South32, offers protections against water wells impacted by the mine’s activities.
These well owners include Moury Mine resident John Nordstrom, who, citing South32’s own monitoring data, said his well water levels have dropped 85 percent over the past year. He and other community members fear that signing the agreement could mean surrendering their water rights or influence over how groundwater impacts are assessed.
South32 President Pat Risner disputed the interpretation of the data and pointed to natural causes for the water level drops.
“Precipitation is the biggest impact on shallow wells like this,” he said. “They’ll rise as much as seven to 10 feet in a wet period and they’ll drop as much as seven to 10 feet in a dry period. If you actually control for seasonal variance and just compare dry period to dry period, it’s about 0.7 percent."
Nordstrom, however, remains unconvinced.
“He’s making an assumption about what a possible cause could be,” Nordstrom said. “I personally don’t think that’s the problem, but I can’t prove that either. It kind of goes back to, let’s solve the problem, not just point fingers.”
South32 asserts that the agreement is meant to offer new protections not guaranteed under Arizona law. Risner says, if signed, the agreement can be transferred to a new homeowner if a home is sold.
“It does not change the management of or ownership of any water rights,” Risner said. “It’s basically just protecting that supply.”
But Nordstrom raised concerns over how impacts are assessed. He is skeptical about having South32 determine when his well is being affected and in need of protection.
“They’re only impacting my water level if they say they are,” he said. “That doesn’t work for me. It needs to be a third party that everyone agrees to and that isn’t biased either way.”
Despite the disagreement, both parties say they’re open to more communication.
“Getting this thing out there in the open is great,” Risner said. “We can explain to people why we’re doing it.”
Nordstrom agrees that the focus should remain on solutions.
“This isn’t about the mine, it isn’t about John,” he said. “It’s about solving the problem so that all the stakeholders can benefit from the outcome.”
South32 says it plans to meet personally with impacted landowners over the next few weeks, including Nordstrom, to work toward mutual understanding.
South32’s Hermosa Mine is slated to begin operation in early 2027.
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Joel Foster is a multimedia journalist at KGUN 9 who previously worked as an English teacher in both Boston and the Tucson area. Joel has experience working with web, print and video in the tech, finance, nonprofit and the public sectors. In his off-time, you might catch Joel taking part in Tucson's local comedy scene. Share your story ideas with Joel at joel.foster@kgun9.com, or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram or X.
