The final day of 2013 also was the first day for critics of the proposed Rosemont Copper Mine to submit to the U.S. Forest Service formal objections of the mine south of Tucson, AZ..

Those who object to either the final Rosemont environmental impact statement or the Forest Service’s December draft decision that tentatively approved the mine have until Feb. 14 to make their thoughts formally known to the service. The mine would remove about 243 million lbs of copper annually in the Santa Rita Mountains.

The Arizona Daily Star reported that only those who have participated in other formal comment processes for the mine can file objections at this point. They would have had to have commented on earlier drafts of the environmental report, or during the effort known as “scoping.” That occurred in 1998, when the Forest Service sought public comment on what issues needed study for the environmental report.

The issues they raise now must be based on those previous comments, unless objectors base their comments on new information learned since they commented before.

The Forest Service will have up to 75 days to respond to objections before making a final decision.