Copper Flat asks southern New Mexico to gamble with its water

More than 20 years ago, my wife and I were looking for a place to grow trees.

We looked around the country and chose Las Animas Creek in Sierra County because of the water, beauty and landscape. We built a tree-growing operation there that, at its busiest, shipped thousands of trees a week during the growing season, many to communities across New Mexico.

We thought we'd keep doing it for a long time. Instead, I'm taking the greenhouses down to move them.

Lower Animas Creek, which used to be a permanent stream, hasn't run in years. For roughly a year and a half, we haven't had enough water through the pipeline we rely on to keep our operation going. I've started moving production back to Santa Fe.

That experience shapes how I think about the proposed Copper Flat mine.

New Mexico Copper Corporation wants to reopen the mine near Hillsboro, just a few miles from where I live. The company has revised its proposal and says the mine would use less water than previously planned. But people who live along Las Animas Creek and experts who have reviewed the proposal continue to raise serious questions about whether the company has enough water for both mining and reclamation–and what its groundwater pumping would mean for people who already depend on this water.

Those aren't hypothetical questions for us.

During an earlier hearing on Copper Flat, I asked what would happen to the small farms along Las Animas Creek if mine pumping affected our water. I remember being reassured that our existing water rights would protect us and that people could drill new wells.

But a right to water on paper doesn't put water back in a well. Drilling deeper costs money, and there is no guarantee you'll find the water you need. Small farmers and rural families shouldn't be expected to shoulder that risk so a mining company can operate.

I don't say that because I believe we can simply stop mining. My father was a mining engineer. I've worked in mines myself, and my background is in forestry and environmental engineering. I understand that we use copper and other minerals and will continue to need them.

But needing copper doesn't mean every proposed mine belongs in every place.

Here in Sierra County, water is one of the resources we cannot replace. And we shouldn't have to choose between protecting it and having an economic future.

Our water, mountains, wildlife and open spaces support farms, ranches, local businesses and recreation. Those are assets that can sustain this community long after a mine closes.

Copper Flat has been an issue for essentially the entire 25 years I've lived here. Soon, the public will once again have an opportunity to weigh in before the New Mexico Mining and Minerals Division.

I hope people across southern New Mexico will use it.

You don't have to be a hydrologist, engineer or mining expert to have something important to say. If you depend on this water, make your living here, or care about what this landscape looks like decades from now, you have a stake in this decision.

Before approving Copper Flat, state regulators should be able to say with confidence that the mine has the water it needs, existing water users will be protected, and Sierra County won't be left carrying the consequences after mining is done.

Until they can, the answer should be no.

Lee Newman is a longtime Sierra County resident, tree grower and co-founder of Newman’s Nursery. For more than 20 years, he and his family have operated a growing nursery along Las Animas Creek. He has a background in forestry and environmental engineering and serves as vice president of the Percha Animas Watershed Association.