Flagstaff, Arizona (AHN) - A judge ruled Friday to allow officials at Arizona Snowball to use treated wastewater to make snow.
The ruling angered Native American tribes, such as The Hopi Tribe, the Navajo Nation and others, who say that the move will taint a mountain that they consider to be sacred. Snowbowl is located in the Coconino National Forest in the San Francisco Peaks, which is federal land. However, the company is owned and operated in the private sector.
Snowbowl officials say that a lack of snow has left the ski resort struggling and that adding new snow artificially is necessary. The water will be treated by pipeline, coming from Flagstaff.
U.S. District Judge Paul Rosenblatt said in his ruling that the project didn't infringe on the tribes' religious practices because they didn't do so within the realms of the project area.
