Tagged: Hopi

After a heated day-long meeting today, The Hopi Tribal council has voted to halt negotiations on a controversial water bill.

The 11-4 vote endorsed a resolution brought forth by former Hopi leaders. 

The leaders objected to the bill by Arizona’s U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl that would have settled Hopi claims to the Little Colorado River in exchange for water development projects.

Former Chairman Ivan Sidney declared that Kyl’s bill is now dead, because without all parties agreeing to the water settlement, Kyl has said he won’t move it forward in Congress.

The City of Flagstaff has decided to renew a contract to sell wastewater to Arizona Snowbowl for snowmaking. The decision was made by city staff, not by City Council.   

The decision comes as a new study questions the economic impact of the ski resort.

The report commissioned by the Hopi Tribe disputes previous economic studies that found a $17 million annual economic impact.

John Duffield, an economics professor at the University of Montana, says previous studies overstated the impact.

The Hopi Tribe is seeking $20 million from the federal government to clean up arsenic in drinking water.

In the Hopi communities of First and Second Mesa, naturally occurring arsenic levels in drinking water exceed federal limits by as much as  four times.

Arsenic has been linked to cancers and circulatory problems.

Hopi water director Lionel Puhuyesva says  the tribe decided to sue the government, rather than ask Congress for money.

The Hopi Tribe will appeal a recent ruling in favor of the City of Flagstaff’s plan to sell reclaimed wastewater to Arizona Snowbowl.

The Tribal Council recently told its lawyers to appeal the decision by the Coconino County Superior Court.

In his ruling in late December, Judge Joe Lodge said that the major issues in the case have already been decided in federal court.

The tribe’s latest suit claims that treated sewage water cannot be used for snowmaking because melted snow could flow into water basins outside of the ski resort.

The chairman of the Hopi Tribe says he will not fight a recent decision by the Tribal Council to strip him of administrative duties.

The Hopi Tribal Council voted unanimously Nov. 30 to take away Chairman Leroy Shingoitewa’s oversight of personnel.  

The Council also fired the lawyer that Shingoitewa had contracted to represent the tribe. Critics claim Robert Lyttle’s legal fees have exceeded $6 million.

Shingoitewa says the Council has since decided to rehire Lyttle.