(find before and after construction pics here)

Since May 25, the owners of Arizona Snowbowl, with the blessing of the US Forest Service and the Flagstaff City Council have laid nearly six miles of a 14.8-mile wastewater pipeline and have clear-cut over 40 acres of rare alpine forest. As construction continues, a lawsuit centering on the human health impacts of using reclaimed wastewater to make snow artificially is currently under appeal in the Ninth Circuit Court. The Save the Peaks Coalition and nine concerned citizens will be able to make one oral argument on the issue, likely by the end of September, before a decision is made.

While many resorts use a mixture of reclaimed wastewater and potable water to make snow artificially, Snowbowl is slated to be the only resort in the world to use 100% reclaimed wastewater to make snow. That is, if it is successful in court. If Snowbowl is not successful in court, the pipeline will have to be removed.

“Snowbowl is aware of this. They know that whatever they’re doing is at their own risk,” said attorney in the case, Howard Shanker. “They actually filed for a motion to expedite [the appeal process], but the Ninth Circuit turned it down.”
Recently, on August 19, the Hopi Tribe filed a separate lawsuit against the City of Flagstaff. “The lawsuit states that the City’s contract to sell 1.5 million gallons of reclaimed wastewater per day to Snowbowl is illegal because it violates several Arizona laws that govern the proper use of reclaimed wastewater” and will “result in unreasonable environmental degradation.”
Stressing the importance of this case to the Hopi people, Leroy Shingoitewa, the Chairman of the Hopi Tribe. “The health and safety of the Hopi people is indistinguishable from the health and safety of the environment — protection of the environment on the San Francisco Peaks is central to the Tribe’s existence.”

This summer, a sense of urgency has accompanied what opposition groups refer to as desecration of the San Francisco Peaks, which has resulted in mass organizing, demonstrations, protests, rallies, marches, and an outpour of community support for those who have been arrested. Said one activist who wished to remain anonymous: “The notion is clear: if you want to protect the mountain from further expansions, don’t write letters, don’t sign petitions, stop asking yourself ‘why government agencies, from the city to the feds, are fighting so hard for an unpopular project’ and take action!”

Shortly after the rumble of diesel machinery tore into the mountain, affinity groups began to arrive, setting up self-sustained base camps. An affinity group is a small group of activists, united under a common cause, who work together on direct actions. By mid-August, 26 known basecamps had been established within the legal camping area of Forest Service land on the San Francisco Peaks. Since June 16, there have been 26 people arrested in various direct actions and protests, both on the Peaks and in the city of Flagstaff.

While at least half of those groups are from Flagstaff, other supporters, both native and non-native, reside elsewhere on the Colorado Plateau and in the state. Eight people who spent nearly 100 days and nights to protect Glenn Cove, a burial site held sacred to several tribes near Vallejo, California arrived in early August. The occupation of the cove, called Sogorea Te, resulted in a “cultural easement” which set a legal precedent guaranteeing that the Yocha Dehe and Cortina tribes will have legal oversight in all activities taking place on the site. Motivated by the success of their own victory, they came to support those taking similar action on the San Francisco Peaks.

In mid-July, the “Peaks CookShack” was established in a legal camping area near Snowbowl “to support other encampments and affinity groups by providing access to available food, gear, first aid, information, and other supplies being offered and dropped off by supporters and community members.” CookShack is committed to remain on the mountain indefinitely.

“A few folks from Tohono O’odham came and hung out with us for the first weekend we were here,” said Nadia Del Callejo, speaking on a beautiful Sunday morning at CookShack toward the end of July. “They did a prayer for rain and protection on the mountain. Literally right when they left, it hailed for two days straight. Construction had to stop because there was a foot of hail on the ground. In July.”

Sitting on a log, looking up toward swaying aspen, Ms. Del Callejo continued, “There are moments like that up here; irregardless of the kind of hopelessness folks feel. Up here, you just can’t feel it. I mean, you see the destruction every day and it does get to you, but there is also this other part of it, where you understand fully how important it is to do the work and to find a way. We know we’re going to win; we don’t know how we’re going to get there quite yet, but we have faith — whether it’s through the lawsuit or through people taking direct action, or by prayer — they’re not going to put sewer water up here.” She paused and smiled. “We just know.”

Ms. Del Callejo was arrested in June, along with five other people, for an action whereby demonstrators locked themselves down to excavators and to each other, deep inside wastewater pipeline trenches. The action halted construction for four hours and resulted in a reemergence of the issue in local and national media (read my full coverage of that, here). More supporters converged on the Peaks. Weekly prayer gatherings, drum circles, and self-guided tours that bared witness to the clear-cuts continued.

August 4th though the 9th was organized as a “Week of Action,” which included multiple marches throughout Flagstaff including protests and rallies in front of City Hall, the Coconino County Forest Service Office, and High Desert Investment (the construction company contracted by Snowbowl). On August 7, police aggressively disrupted the Protect the Peaks march, which drew more than 100 people, arresting six people, including several known organizers.

The next morning, nine people formed a blockade across Snowbowl Road. Some demonstrators locked themselves to steel drums full of concrete, while others were bound to each other. More than 50 armed agents showed up and used industrial saws, toxic chemical degreasers, and a jackhammer to break apart the blockade. The human blockade delayed construction that day for 8 hours. It also quelled any preconceived ideas that opposition to development would go away.

Snowbowl General Manager JR Murray appeared a few hours into the action. To say that he was mad would be to paint an incomplete picture. As the sound of industrial saws pierced the quiet at 9 thousand feet, he stood with his arms crossed on the side of the road, watching police drag demonstrator after demonstrator away from the scene; the look on his face could only be described in one way: he was dumbfounded.

It could be compared with the same facial expression pro-development folk had during the last 40 years of Flagstaff city council meetings concerning development on the Peaks — when native elders spoke in their own language about the mountain, about desecration, with streams of tears running down their cheeks. That dumbfounded look, that look that begs the question: if skiers and snowboarders had to make due without expansions, without the pipelines and the clear-cuts, would the prospect of that reality bring tears to their eyes?

“The only choice for us is to take action against those who threaten Indigenous cultures, the environment, and our future. It’s frustrating that we had to do this in order to make this point clear,” stated Jenna Tomasello, who took part in the action.

Stephen Zavodynik, also arrested during the blockade elaborated: “We decided to take matters into our own hands and you can too. Whatever you feel is sacred, defend it with all your heart and take a risk, because our future generations will not forgive inaction.”

“For us, our actions are self-defense,” said Ms. Del Callejo after she was arrested for the third time this summer. “And everyone has that right. I am not afraid of what will happen to me if I protest, what I am more afraid of is what will happen if I do not stand up.”

Weekly Prayer circles and other events are scheduled to take place every weekend until construction stops. For more information and updates visit truesnow.org and indigenousaction.org

August 22, 2011
By Hopi Tribe

The Hopi Tribe Initiates Litigation against the City of Flagstaff to Enjoin the Illegal Contract for the Sale of Reclaimed Wastewater to the Snowbowl

KYKOTSMOVI, Ariz. – On Friday, August 19, 2011, the Hopi Tribe filed a lawsuit against the City of Flagstaff in Arizona Superior Court in Coconino County challenging the City’s decision in September 2010 not to amend or cancel the contract for the sale of reclaimed wastewater to the Arizona Snowbowl ski resort (“Snowbowl”) for snowmaking.

The lawsuit states that the City’s contract to sell 1.5 million gallons of reclaimed wastewater per day to Snowbowl is illegal because it violates several Arizona laws that govern the proper use of reclaimed wastewater. The contract provides for the use of reclaimed wastewater in a mountain setting where runoff and overspray cannot be prevented, as Arizona law requires. Additionally, restrictions on limiting human contact with wastewater cannot be met, and harm to the unique alpine environment in the area, including rare animals and plants, cannot be prevented.

The contract is also illegal under Arizona law because it will result in unreasonable environmental degradation and will further deplete limited drinking water resources. As stated in the complaint, the use of reclaimed wastewater for snowmaking will unreasonably harm the environment, create a public nuisance, and infringe upon the public’s, including the Hopi Tribe’s, use and enjoyment of the area around Snowbowl as well as infringe on the Hopi Tribe’s reserved water rights.

The City’s sale of reclaimed wastewater to the Snowbowl will cover a portion of the San Francisco Peaks with artificial snow made from reclaimed wastewater. The San Francisco Peaks, and in particular Snowbowl, is ecologically unique and contains rare types of habitat and species. The City’s illegal contract allows wastewater to run off and spray into wilderness areas specifically used by the Hopi Tribe and others, impeding and infringing on the use and enjoyment of these areas by the Hopi Tribe and others.

Reclaimed wastewater is water that has been used and processed through the City’s wastewater system. Snowmelt from artificial snow made from reclaimed wastewater will be environmentally harmful because it contains chemicals including endocrine disruptors, which can interfere with natural hormone levels and processes in humans and animals. Negative impacts of endocrine disrupters include aberrant sexual development, behavioral and reproductive problems. Key species in the San Francisco Peaks ecosystem, such as frogs, are particularly susceptible to these harmful effects.

The Hopi Tribe will show that the illegal contract for the sale and use of reclaimed wastewater at Snowbowl will result in a very large net economic loss for the San Francisco Peaks community. The small increase in profits anticipated by the Snowbowl and minimal economic benefits to the area are far outweighed by much higher costs, including environmental damage, for the San Francisco Peaks’ community, including the Hopi Tribe.

The effects of the reclaimed wastewater cannot be confined to the ski area and, therefore, users of the Peaks in the vital and accessible areas around Snowbowl will be harmed if the illegal contract is allowed to stand. The Hopi Tribe seeks a judicial order prohibiting performance on this contract to sell reclaimed wastewater to Snowbowl, as the contract is for an illegal purpose and contrary to public policy.

The Hopi Tribe Chairman Leroy Shingoitewa stressed the importance of the case to the Hopi Tribe. “The health and safety of the Hopi people is indistinguishable from the health and safety of the environment — protection of the environment on the San Francisco Peaks is central to the Tribe’s existence. The use of reclaimed sewage on the San Francisco Peaks as planned by the City of Flagstaff and Snowbowl will have a direct negative impact on the Hopi Tribe’s frequent and vital uses of the Peaks.”

I’m very aware that some people are upset about me leaving Flagstaff. One the one hand, I’m humbled because it means my efforts as a journalist in this town has not gone unnoticed. On the other hand, I have great respect for so many people in this town – so much in fact that I’m finding it hard to part without leaving an explanation. So here it is.

For those who haven’t heard yet, I’m moving to Tucson and I’m starting a PhD program this fall in rhetoric & composition. I haven’t figured out my emphasis because it doesn’t really exist yet. I’ll have to work with someone to create one. But I will be focusing on environmental rhetorics and masculinities. Also in Tucson is my partner ♥. Also my grandparents, who could really use my help right now and I’m the only family left in the state.

I move to Tucson with a heavy heart, but a sure step. With everything going on at the mountain right now, I feel especially sad to leave. The mountain and those working to protect it need the support of everyone. Everyone. Right now. As I type, new runs are being clear-cut. The pipeline, poised to carry reclaimed wastewater from Flagstaff to Snowbowl has nearly reached the resort from Ft. Valley Road. Folks are coming from all over the country in support of the Peaks. Folks that worked so hard to protect Glenn Cove, CA (and won!) are on their way to the Peaks right now. There are prayer vigils up there every Saturday morning at ten, and a week of events coming up. The case itself is in appeal. It is, indeed, a shitty time to leave Flagstaff.

My friend Brent told me, “what, you can’t leave Flagstaff…Kyle, you ARE Flagstaff!” My dad, since I was a kid, told me that his heart is in the San Francisco Peaks.
So why?

As many folks who know me know, I’ve been researching and writing a book for a few years now on the issue of development on San Francisco Peaks and those who have worked so hard for decades to resist development. I have mixed feelings about academia and of course it will be hard to leave Flagstaff. I feel, without knowing it, the mountain pulled me here to write about what was going on. She helped me find my voice. And I feel like now I have to leave to finish it.

This controversy and everything that surrounds it is what I will be writing about at UofA. It will be my dissertation project, and I believe, ultimately the book will be that much better because of it. Some of the topics under interrogation here are obvious. Some are very complex and, in my opinion, lie at the heart of not only many of the issues of environmental degradation that plague the dominant culture, but also issues of environmental justice and human rights. And what I’m trying to do is illuminate the omissions inherent to the mainstream discourse around sustainability. Many of the issues we’re dealing with on the mountain speak directly to this. Some of these issues include the rhetoric of colonization, issues of racism, white supremacy and whiteness, masculinity and issues of dominance and control of Nature and culture…Identity issues related to the construction of Flagstaff as “ski town,” water issues in the west, water classifications (potable, reclaimed, recovered-reclaimed), the power of naming (water issues, the road, the mountain itself), the structural limitations of the law – not only in terms of meaningfully enforcing obvious knocks to Native religious freedoms, but also in terms of how incapable it is when it comes to drawing obvious connections, and of course issues of “what is Sacred?” (uh, skiing is sacred to me, bro!)…and way more than I can possibly describe here.

Rhetorically, all these issues are very interesting, but also timely. This case is so precedent setting, because we’re not just talking about the San Francisco Peaks here. In terms of issues of sanity and sustainability regarding treatment of sacred sites on public land, we’re also talking about Black Mesa, Indian Pass, Bear Lodge (Devil’s Tower), Red Butte, Grey Horn Butte, Mt. Graham, Weatherman Draw, Zuni Salt Lake, Cave Rock and hundreds of other places around the world. What do these places and the cultures that hold them dear have to contribute as we (hopefully) move toward a sustainable future? The truth is, nobody really knows, because nobody is really asking.

The idea of the sacred is an important, yet often unarticulated factor in any move toward a sustainable future. All of these issues – what is sacred and what that means, how we talk about our water, and how we talk about the land (and therefore how we treat it) is all related to a more meaningful understanding of sustainability. Also, the question of how language has been used to shape the way people perceive the natural world, and how rhetoric shifts when used by indigenous people who have a cultural and spiritual connection that is tied directly to the land raises further important questions. Nobody deserves to have their narrow view of sustainability shaken up more than municipalities, corporations, and yeah, universities.

I mean, one doesn’t have to be particularly observant to notice the difference in the way folks talk about the local environment when their cultural, spiritual, and physical survival is tied directly to the land, particularly when that land is under attack – and those that believe their survival is tied directly to those exploitive systems that bring them these things (why would you, after all, defend a river, if you drink from the tap?). And that interrogation is meaningful.

Someone told me a long time ago that you know you’ve settled on a dissertation topic when it is something that keeps you up at night, but other people could give a shit less about. I’m a step further on this one because I know I’m not the only one losing sleep over this.

So I’m hoping the dissertation will aid in making the book better and serve as a contribution to the larger discourse on sustainability as it relates to sacred sites…etc. I don’t see anyone else out there drawing connections to our environmental/cultural degradation and issues of masculinity…so I feel it’s an important niche I can fill. I’m going to need help figuring out how best to tell the story, how best to connect all this to issues elsewhere, and how best to make it accessible to the widest audience I can.

Chuck already knows I’ll be giving him Peaks related articles for The Noise, and he is welcoming my contributions even when I’m 252 miles south of Flagstaff. It just won’t be the kind of “boots on the ground” reporting that I think people are used to from me.

I already told the English Department at NAU to expect my application in 4 years or less. The plan was always a PhD program, but I wanted to make that transition with some determination, some deliberation, and I’ve got that now; plus UofA is paying for four years funding. So my heart lies on the Peaks, like my dad, and like everyone who leaves Flagstaff, the plan is to come back.

Folks have asked if I’m having a going away party. Instead, I’m asking everyone I know to come to the events this coming week, a week of action, in defense of the Peaks. Please come to the prayer circle on Saturday mornings at 10. I’m too connected to the issues up here to announce that I’m going away, because the truth is I’ll likely be up here a lot still. I’m out on the 10th

With respect,

Kyle Boggs

BTW – I have script written for a graphic novel related to the peaks/reclaimed water issue. It’s pretty low-brow humor, kinda gory too…like a Toxic Avenger sorta thing…after an avalanche of reclaimed wastewater snow covers him on the mountain, our hero, perhaps the first homosexual superhero from the suberbs of Scottsdale – now half man, half elk (with powers of course!) seeks his bloody vengeance on JR, the FS, and the city….next volume, Black Mesa? Who knows?! Anyway – if there are any artists out there who like drawing cartoons and want to partner with me on this, please get a hold of me!