Hopi Tribe withdraws lawsuit against wastewater at sacred site

Wednesday, January 9, 2013  

The Hopi Tribe withdrew a lawsuit aimed at stopping the use of reclaimed sewage in the sacred San Francisco Peaks in Arizona.

The tribe agreed to pull the lawsuit after talks with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The agency agreed to study the potential impacts of wastewater on the San Francisco Peaks groundsel, an endangered plant found only on the mountain.

Arizona Snowbowl, a ski resort in the peaks, won federal approval to use reclaimed sewage to make fake snow. Tribes and Indian activists went to court to block the project but were rejected.

Get the Story:
Hopi Tribe withdraws snowmaking lawsuit (The Navajo Hopi-Observer 1/8)

Related Stories:
NYT Blog: Hopi Tribe lodges new lawsuit to protect sacred site (11/20)
Hopi Tribe files lawsuit over reclaimed sewage at sacred site (11/16)