The Save the Peaks Coalition and a group of private citizens filed a new lawsuit to challenge the presence of reclaimed sewage in the sacred San Francisco Peaks of Arizona.

The lawsuit says the U.S. Forest Service failed to consider the possibility that humans might ingest snow made from the waste water. "Our government should not be approving such projects without some sort of understanding of the anticipated impacts.," said attorney Howard Shanker.

The plaintiffs include members of the Navajo Nation and non-Indians who use the peak for recreational and other purposes. They are asking a judge to bar the Forest Service from allowing Arizona Snowbowl, the operator of a ski resort in the peaks, to proceed with work at the site.

The Navajo Nation and other tribes previously sued the Forest Service for approving Snowbowl's plan to make snow with reclaimed sewage. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals initially sided with the tribes but went a different way after a rehearing. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to consider the case.

Get the Story:
Press Release: U.S. Government Ignores Public Health Dangers of Sewer Water Snowmaking (Save The Peaks Coalition 9/21)

Relevant Documents:
Complaint: Save The Peaks v. US Forest Service | Motion for Temporary Restraining Order

9th Circuit Decision:
Navajo Nation v. US Forest Service (August 8, 2008)

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Editorial: Fake snow alright at sacred peaks (6/16)
Blog: No end to fight over San Francisco Peaks (6/15)
Tribes weigh next step in sacred site battle (6/9)
Supreme Court declines to hear sacred site case (6/8)
Supreme Court to consider sacred site case (6/1)
USDA official can't comment on sacred site case (4/29)
Navajo Nation seeks to resolve sacred site case (4/28)
Obama response awaited in sacred site case (3/23)
Tribes ask Supreme Court to hear sacred site case (1/6)
Tribes weigh next move in sacred site case (10/23)
Indian religious rights cases on high court's horizon (10/21)
9th Circuit delays ruling in sacred site case (10/06)
Interview: Attorney in San Francisco Peaks case (8/22)
Appeals court reverses course on sacred site (8/12)
9th Circuit issues rulings on sacred site, compacts (8/8)