Arizona AG Kris Mayes asks court to halt Chino Valley mining plan
YAVAPAI COUNTY, Ariz. - Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes has filed a preliminary injunction to stop the development of a proposed aggregate mine near Chino Valley.
"Late Friday night, we found out that a temporary injunction has been filed, and we celebrated," said Vickie Niesley.
The preliminary injunction was filed after AG Mayes held a listening session, where she heard from hundreds of residents.
AG Hayes announced her decision to file a preliminary injunction via a statement. It reads, in part:
Representatives with Rock Supply LLC declined to speak with us directly at their recent meeting, and attempts to reach them for comment have been unsuccessful.
We also reached out to the Arizona Mine Inspector about the move, but they have yet to respond.
Residents found out about plans via fliers
We first reported on the development in late September. The mining operation is proposed by a company called Rock Supply LLC. The company filed the proposal with the Mine Inspector’s Office earlier in 2023. The proposed plan includes removing more than 616,000 cubic yards of aggregate over a 20-year operation, and it will sit on a 25.2 acre parcel that the company owns.
The mine, as proposed, will be located in a neighborhood called Cedar Heights. There are more than 100 homes in the area, and area residents said they found out about the plans via a flier posted to a telephone pole.
"That was the only notice that we ever saw," said Danny Brumett. "We never got any public notice from the Mine Inspector Office, from the owner of the property, or any of the other agencies involved in this."
"We live in a very rural community. We live on a dirt road. One of our big concerns is that these big dump trucks would totally ruin our roads. Our peace and quiet, our water concerns. It’s always windy here. We are concerned about not only dust, but what might be in that dust. They are going to have to blast to get rocks off of that hill," said Niesley.
Read More: Yavapai County residents raise concerns over proposed mine near residential neighborhood
Area residents react to latest development
AZ AG seeks halt to Chino Valley mining plan
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes has announced that she is filing for a preliminary injunction against plans for a mine in the Chino Valley area that has drawn opposition from area residents. People living in the area claim they found out about the plans via fliers posted in the neighborhood, and they are worried over the mine's impact on their well-being. FOX 10's Stephanie Bennett reports.
The reclamation portion of the mining plan was approved a few weeks ago, and AG Mayes' move is considered a win to residents who are desperately trying to stop the mine from moving into their backyards.
"Knowing that our state Attorney General is on our side is just the biggest relief we could have had," said Niesley. "Knowing that we had help. that we weren’t doing this on our own because it’s not right, what’s happening here in our neighborhood."