A federal land management agency has confirmed that the free, prior and informed consent of affected Tribal Nations was given full and careful consideration during approval of a major mining project, a process officials say took the better part of an afternoon.
The permit was fast-tracked under a streamlined review reserved for projects of national importance. The requirement to consult Tribal governments was handled through a separate process described as “thorough” and “concluded”.
“We take our federal trust responsibility extremely seriously,” a senior spokesperson said. “That is why we read the letter the Tribe sent and then proceeded exactly as planned.”
The project sits near a site of cultural and ceremonial significance. The agency confirmed the significance had been noted in an appendix.
In a related matter a separate operation found to have polluted a community water source was issued a fine the company is understood to have located in petty cash. A departmental official called the penalty “proportionate”, clarifying it was proportionate to the budget of the office that issued it rather than to the spill.
Officials emphasised that consultation remained ongoing, a status it has held since the previous administration, the administration before that, and a treaty signed in the 1800s.
“Consent is a journey, not a destination,” the spokesperson said, “which is convenient because we have not reached it.”
The agency reaffirmed its commitment to government-to-government relationships and confirmed the relationship currently consisted of one government talking and one government being talked at.
The fine was smaller than the spill. The mine was bigger than the consultation.
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