RECENT FEDERAL DECISIONS

June 2007

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Ninth Circuit Holds Use of Recycled Sewage Effluent to Make Artificial Snow Violates Religious Freedom Restoration Act and NEPA
Navajo Nation, et al. v. U.S. Forest Service, et al., ___ F.3d ___

In an effort to expand a ski area located in the San Francisco Peaks in northern Arizona and reduce the area’s dependence on natural snowfall, the Arizona Snowbowl Resort Limited Partnership (Snowbowl) proposed making artificial snow from recycled sewage effluent. The Snowbowl proposed bringing 1.5 million gallons per day of treated sewage effluent from the City of Flagstaff to the ski area through a 14.8-mile pipeline. The proposal included construction of a reservoir with a surface area of 1.9 acres, large enough to hold 10 million gallons of treated sewage effluent. The Snowbowl proposed using artificial snow made from the effluent to build a base layer covering the ski area at the beginning of the ski season. The Snowbowl would also use the effluent to make additional snow during the rest of the season, as needed. Under the Snowbowl’s proposal, over 200 acres in the San Francisco Peaks would receive the sewage effluent. Depending on the snowfall in a particular season, up to 100 million gallons of effluent could be deposited on the San Francisco Peaks in a year.