# Plain Language Summary: Save Oak Flat Act

This bill stops the federal government from transferring a sacred Native American site called Oak Flat to a mining company. Here's what's actually happening: A 2015 law quietly authorized the government to give about 2,400 acres of public forest land in Arizona to Resolution Copper Mining so they could dig for copper. The Save Oak Flat Act simply repeals that 2015 law and permanently protects the land from mining.

Oak Flat is sacred to several Native American tribes in the region who use it for religious ceremonies and traditional practices. The mining company planned to use a destructive mining method called "block cave mining" that would remove a massive amount of ore from deep underground—about a cubic mile of material. This would cause the surface of Oak Flat to collapse and disappear entirely, destroying the tribal sacred sites forever. The mining would also require enormous amounts of water, which could contaminate local drinking water supplies and damage the underground water sources the region depends on.

The bill's supporters argue that the 2015 law was sneaked into a defense bill without proper debate or a real vote—it was never considered on its own merits, and when similar bills were brought up separately, they were pulled from consideration. The bill emphasizes that the federal government has a responsibility to protect Native American sacred sites on public lands and that tribes should have a meaningful say in decisions affecting their religious and cultural practices. By repealing the 2015 provision and withdrawing Oak Flat from mining, this bill keeps the land in public ownership and prevents the mining project from moving forward.

Save Oak Flat Act

Grijalva, Raúl M.

Save Oak Flat Act This bill repeals the requirement for the Department of Agriculture to convey the 2,422 acres of Forest System land located in Tonto National Forest in Pinal County, Arizona,&nbsp;known as Oak Flat, to Resolution Copper Mining, LLC, in exchange&nbsp;for various parcels of land owned by Resolution Copper. Oak Flat is withdrawn from (1) entry, appropriation, or disposal under the public land laws; (2) location, entry, and patent under the mining laws; and (3) disposition under all laws pertaining to mineral and geothermal leasing or mineral materials.