Grand Canyon Outrage

When federal officials proposed building a dam within the Grand Canyon 40 years ago, the Sierra Club and other environmentalists responded with outrage. Why not flood the Sistine Chapel, the club said, for a better view of Michelangelo’s frescoes?

That was maybe a bit of a stretch, but it’s time to bring out the hyperbole again. Peabody Western Coal, the nation’s largest coal mining company, proposes to sink a 1,200-foot shaft into a branch of the Grand Canyon to suck water from the Colorado River. The $125-million scheme would include a pumping plant within the park to send the water to a slurry pipeline at a nearby mine.

Drill through the rim of the Grand Canyon to get water from the drought-stricken Colorado? Why not sink geothermal wells in Yellowstone or explore for oil in Yosemite Valley?

The National Park Service should condemn this wretched idea immediately. And Peabody ought to drop it like a hot rock.

The company says the project in Grand Canyon National Park is only “an option we’re looking at.” In fact, Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) was the sponsor of legislation that would have enabled Peabody to lease 6,500 acre-feet from the Colorado. That’s enough water to serve about 13,000 families a year -- and the Colorado is a chief source of Southern California’s water. The bill luckily didn’t make it to a vote.

Peabody buys about 3,800 acre-feet of well water from the Hopi tribe to serve its Black Mesa mine, east of Grand Canyon and operated under lease from the Hopi and Navajo tribes since 1970. Crushed coal is mixed with the water and piped 137 miles to the Mohave electric power plant near Laughlin, Nev. The plant, criticized as a major polluter, serves customers in California, Nevada and Arizona.

The Hopi, concerned about not having enough water, told Peabody they would quit the deal in 2005. A Navajo official said other alternatives, including the use of brackish water, were being pursued. OK. But Peabody should keep out of the Grand Canyon.

The drill hole and pumping station would be miles upstream from the South Rim, where most visitors congregate. But popularity isn’t the issue. When Congress created Grand Canyon National Park, it meant for all of the park to be protected. Otherwise, why not just flood the park so folks could get a closer view from tour boats?