'Blizzard' of comments delays Snowbowl ruling
By SETH MULLER
Sun Staff Reporter
11/10/2004
Although a chilly, wet autumn has brought a trio of pre-Thanksgiving snowstorms
to the San Francisco Peaks, the real accumulation has occurred with public
comments on a controversial plan to bring artificial snowmaking using reclaimed
wastewater to the Arizona Snowbowl.
And the barrage of responses has moved the target date for the final decision
into early next year, the Coconino National Forest reported Tuesday.
Public comments on an environmental impact study for the snowmaking proposal
have exceeded more than 8,000, which have come from 4,000 individuals,
according to Forest Service spokesman Jason Kirchner.
The preferred alternative of the Forest Service in the draft plan involves
pumping reclaimed wastewater to the 777-acre ski area, and it is considered an
affront to 13 tribes that hold the San Francisco Peaks sacred.
"They're finished reviewing the 8,000 comments, and now they're working on the
analysis," Kirchner said of the firm, the Seattle-based Ski Engineering Group,
hired to handle the Snowbowl project's environmental impact statement. "We're
nowhere near having a final decision on this."
The Forest Service had anticipated it might have had the final decision year's
end, but now it expects to issue the final position some time in the first few
months of next year.
Once that decision is made by Coconino National Forest Supervisor Nora Rasure,
the Forest Service will not collect further comments and does not expect to
host meetings.
But the ruling will face likely appeal. That appeal would send the ruling to
the regional forest service office in Albuquerque for review, and that review
is to be completed within 45 days, according to Kirchner.
If the appellant is not satisfied with the decision from the regional office,
it could open the Snowbowl plan to a lawsuit, which is also likely, given the
controversy surrounding the proposal. A similar process to upgrade Snowbowl
facilities in the late 1970s faced litigation that went all the way to the
Supreme Court, which ruled in favor of the Forest Service.
For the current proposal, such litigation could push a resolution well beyond
2005.
In February, the Forest Service released a draft version of the environmental
study and reported that its preferred alternative is to allow for the
artificial snowmaking from reclaimed wastewater. It would arrive via pipeline
from the city of Flagstaff, where officials have approved Snowbowl's purchase
of the treated effluent if the project wins Forest Service approval.
A grassroots organization known as Save The Peaks Coalition came together about
the time of the draft plan's release and opposed the Forest Service's position.
Forest Service officials say that Snowbowl represents 1 percent of the 74,000
total acres of Peaks area under an eligible designation as a cultural site, but
that "no access is being denied" to Native Americans to practice their religion
at the Snowbowl or any location within the Peaks.
That was the basis of the Supreme Court decision more than 20 years ago that
allowed the first upgrade to go forward.
The sacredness of the Peaks brings tribal medicine men to the slopes for
ceremonies and to collect ceremonial and medicinal plants. Members of the
Coalition and tribal officials fear the pumping of reclaimed wastewater could
affect the spiritual properties of the mountains. The Hopi, for example,
consider it a dwelling place of spirits known as katsinas.
However, the limited liability partnership that took over Snowbowl's operations
in the early 1990s says a lack of natural snowfall has threatened the financial
viability of the operation.
The environmental impact study shows that, with snowmaking, the Snowbowl would
generate $23.7 million in annual visitor spending vs. $11 million without it.
And it would increase the number of full-time equivalent jobs, both on and off
the mountain, from 232 to 564.
The Flagstaff Chamber of Commerce has supported the project.
Reporter Seth Muller can be reached at 913-8607 or at smuller@azdailysun.com.
On the Web:
www.arizonasnowbowl.com
www.savethepeaks.org
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