GCRG’s Pipeline Comments

Below are the comments submitted by gcrg to Senators Kyl, McCain and Bingaman on October 15th, 2002 regarding the proposed pipeline project in Grand Canyon (Badger Rapid/Jackass Canyon site). To date, no response has been received. The latest word is that the “offending language” is no longer in the Zuni water bill. However, the Bureau of Reclamation appraisal of the site unbelievably finds no “fatal flaw” sot the threat may indeed reappear in 2003 if Senator Kyl can figure out how to resolve some technicalities. Our initial email action alert had such an enormous effect that Kyl’s office actually begged people to stop calling. If they insist on pushing this proposal again, they “ain’t seen nothing yet”! So, get informed by reading the article by Michelle Grua in this issue. We’ll be ready, waiting and watching!
Grand Canyon River Guides, Inc. (gcrg) was founded in 1988 to provide river guides with a collective voice regarding resource management issues in Grand Canyon National Park. Our non-profit 501(c)(3) educational and environmental organization is made up of over 1,900 river guides and river runners who care deeply about Grand Canyon and the Colorado River. Although larger organizations may address broad environmental issues in the Grand Canyon and the Colorado Plateau region, only gcrg focuses solely on the current issues of the Colorado River corridor through Grand Canyon.
Grand Canyon River Guides strongly opposes the amendment to congressional bill S.B. 2743 proposing the construction of a pumping plant and pipeline within Grand Canyon. Towards that end, we urge you to prompt the Bureau of Reclamation to abandon their appraisal of the Jackass Canyon/Badger Rapid area for this proposed project. The Colorado River in the Grand Canyon should not be used as a water source for development and industrial infrastructure.

The area in question is currently part of a boundary dispute, and this type of construction would have serious implications for the final resolution of the boundary, as well as setting a precedent concerning resource exploitation within the National Park System. A pristine area of any National Park should not be sacrificed to industrial development for the sake of expediency, while alternative and sustainable solutions are out there waiting to be explored. Arizona’s Grand Canyon is a World Heritage site and the jewel of the U.S. National Park System that should be protected and preserved for all generations to enjoy.
We strongly encourage you to remove this amendment from the Zuni water bill. A source of water should be identified somewhere other than within the Grand Canyon. Construction of this magnitude, with its implications for the boundary and the National Park, should be considered separately, on its own merits, not as a small part of a settlement resolving water rights for the Zuni tribe and other water users on the Little Colorado River. The National Environmental Protection Agency (nepa) process was created just for this type of proposal, and a full-scale Environmental Impact Statement would be necessary to fully judge and compare both the long-term impacts and potential benefits of an alternative that planned to construct pumping stations and pipelines within the National Park.
We are cognizant of your commitment to the preservation of Grand Canyon’s natural resources and cultural heritage. Grand Canyon River Guides shares that commitment, and we trust that you and your staff will do what is right for Grand Canyon and the Colorado River. We would like to hear from you by October 20th so we can inform our membership of your position.
The Officers and Board of
Grand Canyon River Guides, Inc.