Sludge Watch ==> Flagstaff sewage effluent again proposed for snowboarding on sacred peaks

[Maureen Reilly]

Sludgewatch admin:

Sewage effluent is the 'cleanish' water that is discharged from sewage 
treatment plants.  Sewage sludge is the contaminants that are removed from 
the sewage to make the water 'cleanish'.

Cleanish: because sewage effluent has drugs, hormones, synthetic and 
natural, and detergent agents, endocrine disruptors and pathogens.  It is 
not clean.  It is not what should be sprayed in a park.  And it certainly 
shouldn't be used to foul sacred landscapes.

Sewage effluent is not 'grey water'. Greywater refers to untreated liquid 
waste from showers and sinks in a house, not the post sewage liquids from a 
sewage treatment plant.


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Arizona Snowbowl should go green not gray

Gray water for snowmaking vs. following nature?s laws

By Suzy Chaffee, founder of Native Voices Foundation

Sedona, AZ - In March 2007, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San 
Francisco halted a plan by the Arizona Snowbowl, a small ski resort 
operating on federal land on the slopes of the San Francisco Peaks in 
Northern Arizona, from using treated waste water to make artificial snow.  
The reason: the San Francisco Peaks are considered sacred by more than 13 
Native American Nations who say the use of waste water would destroy and 
desecrate the land and violate their rights under the Religious Freedom 
Restoration Act.  Sadly, however, the 9th Circuit agreed to rehear the case.

But why does the Arizona Snowbowl need to make artificial snow?

According to the "Climate History of Flagstaff, Arizona - 1950 to 2007" by 
Richard Hereford, Scientist Emeritus, U.S. Geological Survey Flagstaff, 
since 1985 the annual snowfall for Flagstaff was below 100 inches per year 
for only 9 out of the last 23 years.  What's alarming is that 7 of those 9 
years have all been since 1999.  Although the report noted that a long-term 
trend of accumulated snowfall is not evident, it did say that Flagstaff is 
becoming warmer and drier.

Could the reason for the lack of snowfall be that we are way out of balance 
with nature? The Snowbowl is next door to Flagstaff, which has mushroomed to 
57,000 residents, more than doubling in the last 30 years, and is up the 
road from a US smog leader, Phoenix/ Scottsdale, with its 70 golf courses 
sprayed with herbicides and pesticides.

According to Matthew Turner, founder of Green Sedona, who rallied 70 Sedona, 
AZ businesses to help rid Sedona's main artery 89A of herbicides, "The 
gaseous VOCs (hydrocarbons) from [herbicide and pesticide] spraying are 
major contributors to the smog, in addition to containing ?dioxins,? which 
can cause cancer and DNA-mutations in man, wildlife and our water, including 
our aquifers, for up to 15 years.  Is this sane sustainable thinking??

Aspen is a prime example of how a ski town can make a difference.  Aspen 
used to be smoggy, but now regularly wins the National Ski Areas 
Association?s ?Golden Eagle Awards for the Most Sustainable Ski Resort in 
North America,? and gets the best snow. Aspen SkiCo uses clean renewable 
solar on their Sundeck Restaurant, some wind-powered lifts, biodiesel 
snowcats, and teams up with the town and county using biodiesel-fueled 
public transportation, some Lakota Wind Energy; plus Aspenites have more 
hybrid cars per cubic mile.  In addition, the Roaring Fork Club on the 
Roaring Fork River has a green model Jack Nicklaus Course, as part of the 
teamed up Aspen valley effort.

Rather than work to make Flagstaff green like Aspen, the Arizona Snowbowl is 
fighting for a quick fix, to use treated waste water for snowmaking. 
American Indian elders say ?precipitation comes from the mountains for the 
whole region, therefore ski resort towns need to be extra pure to enhance 
natural snow.?
The Arizona Snowbowl is forgetting that toxins from the gray water could 
further jeopardize their ability to generate natural snow long term. ?More 
Americans want to use gray water because they may not fully understand it,? 
says Kesner Flores (Cortina Band of Wintun Indians of California), associate 
member of the National Tribal Environmental Council, and tribal eco 
consultant who has worked with the EPA of California and Arizona. "Treatment 
plants cannot filter out synthetic pharmaceuticals with growth hormones, 
endocrine disruptors (control every body function), and a slew of others, as 
it is too costly and technically challenging. That is why the natural 
approach and the precautionary principles are what the tribes strive for. 
Product manufacturers, ski and golf resorts may not like this at first, but 
the planetary cost is too much. Mankind?s future depends on going back to 
following Nature?s Laws.?

Yet the Snowbowl still could be heroes to Arizonans, nature, the tribes, the 
Snow Gods, and their investors by showing golf course managers, especially 
in Flagstaff, the financial incentives of going green: reduced costs for 
water, energy, pesticides/herbicides, fertilizers, equipment wear, labor, 
insurance premiums, worker safety, as well as reduced legal liability by 
switching to organic products and reducing problems associated with storing, 
handling and applying chemicals; along with happier, healthier skiers, 
golfers and wildlife.

Suzy Chaffee is a former Olympic skier and World Freestyle Champion, and the 
founder of the Native Voices Foundation, a non-profit organization that 
seeks to invite Native Americans back to their majestic ancestral mountains 
for skiing and honoring celebrations.

http://www.sedona.biz/arizona-snow-bowl-crisis0107.htm

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Indians protest use of treated sewage to make snow on sacred peak





ASSOCIATED PRESS

10:10 a.m. December 12, 2007

PASADENA – Chanting and beating drums, American Indians marched to a 
federal appeals court to oppose the use of treated sewage to make snow in 
Arizona mountains they hold sacred.
About 150 activists marched Tuesday to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals 
for a hearing in the case.



AdvertisementA three-judge panel of the court ruled in March that using the 
treated wastewater to allow expansion of the Arizona Snowbowl resort would 
violate the religious freedom of Navajos, Hopis and 11 other tribes who had 
sued to block the expansion.
However, the full appellate court decided to rehear the case. Snowbowl's 
owners and the federal government had urged the court to reconsider, arguing 
that the earlier ruling broke federal precedent and incorrectly applied 
provisions of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

The 777-acre resort rests on the western flank of the San Francisco Peaks 
north of Flagstaff. Resort owners also want to remove about 100 acres of 
forest and add a fifth lift to attract more skiers on manmade snow.

“The peaks are central to the practice of the Hopi religion,” said 
protester Leigh Kuwanwisiwma, director for the Hopi Cultural Preservation 
Office in Arizona. “The mountains and the kachina spirits ... represent 
the heart and soul of our community.”

The U.S. Forest Service leases the land to the Arizona Snowbowl Resort. At 
the hearing, the 11-judge court was told the agency had the right to permit 
snowmaking on its own land.

Lane McFadden, an attorney representing the Forest Service, also said he 
considered the treated wastewater to be safe.

“I would let my kids play in that water,” he said.

As for imposing on Indian religious beliefs, McFadden said: “I believe 
their prayers will not be devastated.”

But Howard Shanker, an attorney representing several tribes, said the 
government “will contaminate their religious freedom” if snowmaking is 
allowed.

The appellate panel did not immediately rule in the case.

Arizona Snowbowl opened late in three of the last four years because of lack 
of snow, but is set to open Thursday, which would match its average opening 
date. The resort brings an estimated $10 million annually to Flagstaff's 
economy.


http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/nation/20071212-1010-wst-skiflap.html