On Thursday, the Arizona Supreme Court, in a 5-2 decision, found in favor of Arizona Snowbowl and the City of Flagstaff in the ongoing dispute regarding snowmaking at the ski resort.
The Hopi tribe sued the City of Flagstaff, claiming the city’s sale of reclaimed water to Snowbowl causes a public nuisance.
At issue was was whether a lower court created a new category of special harm for public nuisance claims.
Ealier this year, the Arizona Appeals court concluded the tribe had distinguished its cultural and religious interest from other recreationists in the area.
The Court sent the case back to Coconino County for a decision on the merits.
The Supreme Court justices ruled “environmental damage to public land with religious, cultural, or emotional significance to the tribe is not special injury for public nuisance purposes.”
From the court decision:
The use of reclaimed wastewater for snowmaking on northern Arizona’s San Francisco Peaks has been extensively debated and litigated. This case is the latest chapter of that dispute. Over sixteen years ago, the City of Flagstaff contracted to sell reclaimed wastewater to Arizona Snowbowl Resort Limited Partnership (“Snowbowl”)
for artificial snowmaking at its ski area on the Peaks. Because the Peaks are located on federal land, this prompted the United States Forest Service to conduct a lengthy environmental impact inquiry, culminating in that agency’s approval. Thereafter, various tribes (including the Hopi Tribe), environmental groups, and other interested parties unsuccessfully challenged the proposed snowmaking under several federal laws, including the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.