Tribal leaders block plan for sewage ‘snow’ at resort on sacred land

A ski resort’s plan to use treated sewage to make snow on a mountain sacred to Native American tribes was blocked yesterday by a US federal appeals court, after emotional objections by tribal leaders.

The Arizona Snowbowl, 150 miles (240km) north of Phoenix, has been in business since 1938 but suffers greatly from unreliable snowfall, not helped by recent mild winters. During the 2001-02 winter season there were only four days when skiing was possible at the resort.

Owners of the resort said that artificial snow to enable skiing throughout the winter is crucial to its economic survival.

Native American tribes, however, say that the plan violates their sacred land and America’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which rules that the federal government may not “substantially burden a person’s exercise of religion”.

The dispute over the sewage-based snow is one of the most prominent in recent years pitting the religious beliefs of Native Americans against economic interests.