Copyright © 2002 NLThomas
All Rights Reserved

Senator John Kyl (Ariz.) has proposed a major construction project to take water from the Colorado River within Grand Canyon National Park for use by Peabody Coal at its Black Mesa and Kayenta Coal mines. Kyl withdrew this proposal once, but is planning to offer it as amendment to the appropriations bill, which is scheduled to be voted on NEXT WEEK.

The plan would take 6,500 acre-feet of water every year from the Colorado River in Marble Canyon, below Lee's Ferry, probably at Jackass Canyon. A treatment plant and pumping station would be built next to the river, inside Grand Canyon National Park. The pipeline would go up to the rim, overland across the Echo Cliffs, and through the Navajo Reservation to Hopi land at Black Mesa. Kyl's office incorrectly states that the construction would not be in the Park, but the Interior Department firmly states that the park boundary is at the rim of the gorge, which is 700 feet above the river, or one-quarter mile from the Colorado River, depending on which authority is cited. The proposed pumping station and the start of the pipeline would be well within the boundary of Grand Canyon National Park.

The procedure is flawed and this major project could be authorized:
· without time for serious public debate or comment,
· without regard to its effect on the river and the downstream environment,
· without an Environmental Impact Study of its effects on Grand Canyon National Park, the Echo Cliffs, or other land the pipeline would cross.

The plan is attached as an amendment to the bill approving the Zuni water settlement and is being presented as if water from this project would benefit Native American communities of Arizona, but:
· the amendment itself states that the water "shall be used only for mining related purposes at the Black Mesa and Kayenta coal mines;"
· benefits primarily Peabody Coal, not Native Americans.

Glen Canyon Institute is supportive of efforts to identify an alternative source of transportation for coal from Peabody 's Black Mesa Mine. However, any proposal that promotes further development of already scarce water resources in the desert Southwest, including a water pipeline, cannot be endorsed.

Please voice your strong opposition to the pipeline amendment on S.B. 2743 to the following senators, as well as your own:

Senator Jon Kyl
(202) 224-4521, Washington, DC
(602) 952-2410, Phoenix
(email comment form)

Senator John McCain (R-Ariz)
(202) 224-2235, Washington, DC
(602) 952-2410, Phoenix
john_mccain@mccain.senate.gov

Senator Jeff Bingaman
Chair of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee
(202) 224-5521, Washington, DC
senator_bingaman@bingaman.senate.gov

Prompt action is vital because the amended bill is headed for a full Senate vote next week.