Nefarious Schemes

We take it for granted that national park status affords protection from resource exploitation. We can’t imagine in our wildest dreams that an industrial project could be built in the Grand Canyon. Yet the unthinkable almost happened, and still may.
In late September, Grand Canyon River Guides heard a rumor about a pipeline project proposed for Jackass Canyon. We contacted Southwest Rivers who in turn steered us to Rob Smith, the Southwest Director of the Sierra Club, for substantiation.
As background information, the Bureau of Reclamation was asked by the Bureau of Indian Affairs to find a source of Colorado River water to be used to slurry coal to the Mojave Power Plant in Laughlin, Nevada. Previously, the water had been pumped from the Hopi N-aquifer, but with their springs and streams jeopardized, pressure was on to find an alternate source. The Hopi Tribe gives Peabody Coal Company until 2005 to find an alternative to pumping from the aquifer or lose its right to mine coal on reservation lands when the current contract expires.
Enter Senator Jon Kyl. Using the end of the legislative session to his advantage, Senator Kyl quietly added language for a major water development in Grand Canyon onto an unrelated bill that sought to resolve water rights for the Zuni Tribe and other water uses on the Little Colorado River. Full environmental review would not be required, according to another of the bill’s changes. No public hearings. No public notice. No environmental review. Unbelievable.
The amended bill would have authorized water to be leased to the Salt River Project (srp) and removed from the Colorado River “between Lake Mead and Lees Ferry” to be used “only for mining related purposes… and for slurrying coal from the Black Mesa and Kayenta mines”. Therefore, this water development project should not be confused with other “pipelines” proposed for Northern Arizona that would bring water to dry communities in the region. It is clearly industrial infrastructure dedicated solely to the current and future needs of the non-renewable fossil fuel industry.
To add fuel to the fire, the Bureau of Reclamation conducted an appraisal study concentrating on the mainstem of the Colorado River within the lower Colorado River Basin below Lees Ferry. The specific location of the proposed infiltration gallery (pumping station) would be at the debris fan of Badger Rapid (River Mile 8) at Jackass Canyon. The pipeline itself would go up the side of the canyon, across the Colorado Plateau and the Echo Cliffs to the Peabody Coal Mine. The study finds “no fatal flaw” with the proposed location despite clearly admitting to the following facts:
• The potential exists for wildlife disturbances, loss of recreational opportunities (hiking, fishing, camping), scenery loss and noise pollution.
• “The area through which the proposed pipeline may be constructed is rich in prehistoric and historic cultural resources going back perhaps as far as 10,000 years. A project of this magnitude will have an adverse affect on cultural resources”. (Page 40, Bureau of Reclamation Appraisal Study).
• This portion of Grand Canyon would have to be withdrawn as “potential wilderness” as the proposed use is inconsistent with wilderness values.

• The study would also have serious ramifications for the boundary of the National Park. In fact, it could ripple into a national park de-designation of a substantial section of Marble Canyon. (Note: Although the boundary has been disputed by the Navajo Nation, the Solicitor’s Office, Bureau of Land Management and National Park Service have all agreed that the park boundary is the east rim of the river canyon, about 700 feet above the river here, and the Navajo Reservation’s western boundary is a quarter mile from the Colorado River. Despite evidence to the contrary, Senator Kyl continued to contend that the area was not within the boundary of Grand Canyon National Park).
Grand Canyon River Guides joined many other environmental organizations in emailing action alerts to as many members as possible, lacking time for a wider alert by mail with the bill rapidly coming up for consideration. The overwhelming volume of calls Senator Kyl received appeared at first to prompt him to remove the “offending language” from the bill. A few days later it was in there again, and not shortly thereafter, removed once more. It was enough to make our heads spin and confusion reign. Is it in? Is it out? Did we win? What’s happening?
The end result is that the Zuni water bill passed by itself without the pipeline amendment, however the issue is far from dead. In actuality, the language was pulled from the bill because the Central Arizona Project (cap) objected to transferring Arizona water to Nevada. Senator Kyl has given every indication that once this “technicality” is worked out, the proposal will once again be considered in the coming year.
We have included for your review the letter that Grand Canyon River Guides crafted and sent to Senators Kyl, McCain and Bingaman. To date we have no response. Your voice is needed as well. This project mustn’t be allowed to resurface. We urge you to continue contacting these Senators and put forth your objections to this pipeline proposal within a pristine area of Grand Canyon National Park. Their contact information is as follows:
• Senator Jon Kyl at (202) 224-4521 or you can email him by accessing his website at http://kyl.senate.gov
• Senator John McCain at (202) 224-2235 or by email at john_mccain@mccain.senate.gov (Note: Senator McCain should be thanked for his continued protection of Grand Canyon and urged to help find alternative, sustainable solutions).
• Senator Jeff Bingaman (Chair, Energy & Natural Resources Committee) at (202) 224-5521 or by email at senator_bingaman@bingaman.senate.gov (Note: Senator Bingaman is an environmental friend and his committee has jurisdiction over national park matters.)
We want them to know—we’re watching and we’re ready to defend Grand Canyon…
Lynn Hamilton

Sources: “Peabody Coal/Black Mesa Mine Water Supply Appraisal Study”, prepared by the Bureau of Reclamation, Phoenix Area Office/Phoenix, AZ and Technical Service Center/Denver, CO—Preliminary Team Draft, September 2002.