"The nation’s highest court Tuesday rejected a request from some tribal members to halt construction of a large copper mine in Arizona that they argue will destroy sacred land."
"The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected a request from some members of the San Carlos Apache Tribe to block a massive proposed copper mine that they say will destroy a holy site in Arizona known as Oak Flat.
A majority of the court denied the petition, but in a dissent joined by Justice Clarence Thomas, Justice Neil Gorsuch said he would have granted the petition. Justice Samuel Alito recused himself from considering the case.
Gorsuch in his dissent called the decision a “grave mistake” and said the case “meets every one of the standards we usually apply when assessing petitions for certiorari: The decision below is highly doubtful as a matter of law, it takes a view of the law at odds with those expressed by other federal courts of appeals, and it is vitally important. Before allowing the government to destroy the Apaches’ sacred site, this Court should at least have troubled itself to hear their case.”"
Hannah Northey reports for E&E News May 27, 2025.
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