I debated putting this in the political section, but thought the readers of this sub-forum would find it more pertinent.
The Bureau of Reclamation is expected to announce soon a proposal for a
water pumping and pipeline project eight miles below Lees Ferry within the
Marble Canyon section of Grand Canyon National Park. The location is
expected to be at Jackass Canyon, which, as noted in Kelsey's books, is a
fun scramble route that hikers can use to access a very picturesque stretch
of the Colorado River.
This would open up Grand Canyon National Park for a major water development
to collect, pump and pipe water from the Colorado River to the Black Mesa
and Kayenta coal mines in northern Arizona.
Some background: unrelated legislation seeking to resolve water rights for
the Zuni Tribe and other water users on the Little Colorado River - S. 2743
- was introduced by Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona in September after four
years of negotiations without any Grand Canyon water project provisions.
But a new section was quietly added to the bill in Senate Indian Affairs
Committee last week to provide water for a pipeline to the coal mines from
the Grand Canyon without any notice or public hearings on the issue. The
amended bill authorizes water to be leased to the electric utility Salt
River Project and removed from the Colorado River "between Lake Mead and
Lee Ferry" to be used "for mining related purposes.and for slurrying coal
from the Black Mesa and Kayenta Coal Mines."
Full environmental review would not be required, according to another of
the bill's changes, which clears the way for tearing up the shoreline,
building water treatment and pumping plants, and constructing a pipeline in
one of the world's greatest natural areas.
Salt River Project operates the Navajo Generating Station near Page, AZ,
which gets coal from the Kayenta mine via rail line, and is partial owner
of the Mohave Generating Station at Laughlin, Nevada, which currently uses
water from an underground aquifer on the Hopi reservation to slurry coal
from the Black Mesa mine through a pipeline all the way to Laughlin. The
Hopi Tribe has opposed pumping more underground water for the coal slurry
because springs and streams have dried up on the reservation.
If you think the Colorado River belongs in Grand Canyon National Park, and
not in a coal slurry pipeline, then you should call or fax your senators
and tell them so.
In Arizona:
Senator John McCain Phone #(202) 224-2235 Fax #202-228-2862
Senator Jon Kyl Phone # (202) 224-4521 Fax # 202-224-2207
There are other alternatives to the Hopi Tribe's water problems that don't
involve sucking water out of the Canyon.
The Bureau of Reclamation is expected to announce soon a proposal for a
water pumping and pipeline project eight miles below Lees Ferry within the
Marble Canyon section of Grand Canyon National Park. The location is
expected to be at Jackass Canyon, which, as noted in Kelsey's books, is a
fun scramble route that hikers can use to access a very picturesque stretch
of the Colorado River.
This would open up Grand Canyon National Park for a major water development
to collect, pump and pipe water from the Colorado River to the Black Mesa
and Kayenta coal mines in northern Arizona.
Some background: unrelated legislation seeking to resolve water rights for
the Zuni Tribe and other water users on the Little Colorado River - S. 2743
- was introduced by Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona in September after four
years of negotiations without any Grand Canyon water project provisions.
But a new section was quietly added to the bill in Senate Indian Affairs
Committee last week to provide water for a pipeline to the coal mines from
the Grand Canyon without any notice or public hearings on the issue. The
amended bill authorizes water to be leased to the electric utility Salt
River Project and removed from the Colorado River "between Lake Mead and
Lee Ferry" to be used "for mining related purposes.and for slurrying coal
from the Black Mesa and Kayenta Coal Mines."
Full environmental review would not be required, according to another of
the bill's changes, which clears the way for tearing up the shoreline,
building water treatment and pumping plants, and constructing a pipeline in
one of the world's greatest natural areas.
Salt River Project operates the Navajo Generating Station near Page, AZ,
which gets coal from the Kayenta mine via rail line, and is partial owner
of the Mohave Generating Station at Laughlin, Nevada, which currently uses
water from an underground aquifer on the Hopi reservation to slurry coal
from the Black Mesa mine through a pipeline all the way to Laughlin. The
Hopi Tribe has opposed pumping more underground water for the coal slurry
because springs and streams have dried up on the reservation.
If you think the Colorado River belongs in Grand Canyon National Park, and
not in a coal slurry pipeline, then you should call or fax your senators
and tell them so.
In Arizona:
Senator John McCain Phone #(202) 224-2235 Fax #202-228-2862
Senator Jon Kyl Phone # (202) 224-4521 Fax # 202-224-2207
There are other alternatives to the Hopi Tribe's water problems that don't
involve sucking water out of the Canyon.