Sludge Watch ==> Navajo Court Victory - no sewage effluent on AZ snowboard site

[Maureen Reilly]

Sludgewatch Admin:

My profound congratulations to the Navajo Nation and all those who 
successfully waged this campaign  and won this court case.

Now if only some government would step forward to protect the public from 
sewage effluent spray which is irrigating Salinas Valley leafy vegetables!

............................................................

Appeals court: No fake snow at Arizona Snowbowl

By: KIM CURTIS - Associated Press Writer

SAN FRANCISCO -- Operators of the Arizona Snowbowl can't use treated 
wastewater to make snow, a federal appeals court ruled Monday in a decision 
that found the procedure would have violated the religious freedom of 
Navajos and a dozen other American Indian tribes.

The 777-acre resort north of Flagstaff wanted to add a fifth chair lift, 
spray man-made snow and clear about 100 acres of forest to extend the ski 
season on the western flank of the San Francisco Peaks that have spiritual 
and religious significance to 13 Southwest tribes.

The tribes claimed the plans would have violated their religious freedom and 
that the government did not adequately address the impact of wastewater on 
the environment.


In a 64-page decision, Judge William A. Fletcher of the 9th U.S. Circuit 
Court of Appeals said the snowmaking scheme violated the Religious Freedom 
Restoration Act of 1993 and was akin to using wastewater in Christian 
baptisms.

"We are unwilling to hold that authorizing the use of artificial snow at an 
already functioning commercial ski area in order to expand and improve its 
facilities, as well as to extend its ski season in dry years, is a 
governmental interest 'of the highest order,"' Fletcher wrote for the 
three-judge panel, which heard arguments in September.

The ruling overturned an opinion by U.S. District Judge Paul Rosenblatt in 
Phoenix who said last year the tribes "failed to present any objective 
evidence that their exercise of religion will be impacted by the Snowbowl 
upgrades."

The panel also ruled the U.S. Forest Service did not adequately address the 
possible health risks of drinking water tainted by runoff from snow made 
with treated wastewater.

Howard Shanker, who represents several tribes, including the Navajo, said 
Monday's decision could have important repercussions.

"Hopefully, this stands because it creates a tremendous precedent for tribes 
to protect their sacred sites," he said.

Snowbowl could ask for a rehearing by the full appeals court or could 
petition the U.S. Supreme Court. An Arizona lawyer did not immediately 
return a call seeking comment.

Environmentalists also opposed the planned expansion because resort owners 
intended to build a pipeline to pump the purified wastewater up the mountain 
from Flagstaff.

For the third time in four years, the Arizona Snowbowl, which brings an 
estimated $10 million annually to Flagstaff's economy, opened late this 
winter because of a lack of snow.

Two years ago, when 460 inches of snow fell on the mountain, the 68-year-old 
resort stayed open for 139 days and hosted more than 191,000 skiers. But 
last year, there was so little snow that the lifts ran only for 15 days.

"We are struck by the obvious fact that the Peaks are located in a desert," 
Fletcher wrote in the ruling. "It is (and always has been) predictable that 
some winters will be dry."

Snowbowl principal owner Eric Borowsky said his group of investors has 
already spent $4 million on the environmental impact statement and legal 
fees, as much as they paid for the resort in 1992. He has said he will sell 
Snowbowl if the appeals court ruled against him.

-- The case is Navajo Nation et al v. U.S. Forest Service et al, 06-15371.