Conservationists sued the Trump administration Tuesday to challenge the expansion of a heavy metal mine they say will carve up one of Arizona’s ecologically important mountain ranges. In consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Forest Service approved the expansion of Australian company South32 Hermosa’s mineral extraction operations to 52,438 acres in the Patagonia Mountains of southern Arizona. … The plaintiffs claim the Forest Service also violated the National Environmental Policy Act by failing to provide an adequate analysis of the project’s threats, including its effects on groundwater and other public resources. … Groundwater pumping would draw down the water table by as much as 250 feet and may reduce or even eliminate surface water flows.

Other water and mining news:

• San Luis Obispo Tribune (Calif.): State drops Havasupai challenge of arsenic levels at uranium mine
• Inside Climate News: Study of groundwater near fracking sites finds low radium levels, but raises concerns about increased salinity
• Center for Biological Diversity: News release: Trump administration sued to stop mine expansion in Arizona’s Patagonia Mountains