NYT Blog: Hopi Tribe lodges new lawsuit to protect sacred site
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Filed Under:
Environment
|
Law
More on: arizona, hopi, sacred sites, usfs, water
"Weeks before the snow guns at the Arizona Snowbowl ski area are set to begin blowing artificial snow made from sewage effluent — a focus of a 10-year legal battle — the Hopi tribe has mounted a new challenge, arguing that the plan could jeopardize the survival of a fragile plant.
Snowbowl sits on national forest land about an hour from the Grand Canyon. Before approving the resort’s snow-making plan, the United States Forest Service conducted a lengthy environmental review and concluded that the fragile alpine tundra would not be adversely affected because endangered and threatened plants would be at a safe distance from the snow guns.
The latest lawsuit, filed last week by the Hopi in federal court in Washington, contends that the review failed to account for the effect that drifting and blowing snow would have on the San Francisco groundsel, which is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Calling this “a critical oversight,” it seeks a federal injunction requiring the Forest Service to ensure that the wastewater snow is not used."
Get the Story:
Green: Snow, Sewage and a Fragile Alpine Plant
(The New York Times 11/19)
9th Circuit Decisions:
Save
the Peaks Coalition v. USFS (August 28, 2012)
Save
the Peaks Coalition v. USFS (June 21, 2012)
Save
The Peaks Coalition v. USFS (February 9, 2012)
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Courts consider two lawsuits over snowmaking at
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BBC: Hopi Tribe
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Editorial: Hopi Tribe lawsuit over fake snow seems
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Earth 911: Skiing on
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Fast Company: Hopi
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