** PLEASE WIDELY REDISTRIBUTE THIS MESSAGE TO APPROPRIATE LISTS/NEWSGROUPS **
Forwarded Information:
>> From: Anne Carl (anne@indirect.com) on Fri, 20 Oct 1995 06:04:20 -0700
STOP Congress from granting the University of Arizona
an exemption from All Applicable
U.S. Environmental, Cultural and Religious Protection Laws
-- the laws they bought once already AND BROKE!
BRIEF HISTORY (if you know the history, skip to "Action Alert"):
The UA has wanted a huge telescope complex in the middle of a biologically
unique forest which is also sacred to the San Carlos Apache People.
When they started the project, the UA didn't want to do impact studies or
consult with the Apaches, both required by federal law, so in 1988 they went
to Congress to lobby/buy an exemption from their legal responsibilities.
Congress gave them an 8.6 acre exempted area (hand-picked by the UA) for
their first 3 telescopes.
As fate had it, in their haste to secure an exemption, the UA picked the
worst spot on the mountain for telescope viewing! By their own studies,
they found out that they picked a site in a natural wind tunnel!
Rather than comply with the laws that they spent millions avoiding, they
waged a Pearl Harbour-style sneak attack on Mt. Graham in the dawn hours of
Dec. 7, 1993. They went outside of their exempted area, and clearcut over
300 old growth trees, creating damage to a different watershed, and
increasing the project's foot print by 40% and its "edge effect" by 76%.
They were apprehended. A coalition of groups (including SEAC) sued them,
and won. The UA appealed and we won. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals
ruled that they broke the law (the Endangered Species Act, National
Environmental Policy Act, National Forest Management Act, National Historic
Preservation Act, and American Indian Religious Freedom Act) and would have
to get required impact studies done. They would also have to consult with
traditional Apaches.
BUT NOW, INSTEAD of obeying the law, they are going back to Congress to try
and get a 2nd exemption from the law.
***ALERT***
***ALERT***
*ACTION ALERT*
***WE SUSPECT THAT REP. JIM KOLBE WILL TRY AND SNEAK THIS RIDER ONTO THE***
***BUDGET RECONCILIATION BILL***
(This is the same bill that would exempt the Ward Valley Nuclear Dump from
federal environmental laws and prohibit legal action. It also seeks to
allow oil drilling in the ANWR. Rep. Jim Kolbe, R-AZ, who has vowed to help
the UA sits on this cttee...)
Unfortunately, we don't have time to be sure that we have the right bill!
Rep. John Kasich (12th-OH), House Budget Cttee Chair, is expected to submit
the Reconciliation bill this coming MONDAY afternoon!!!
The 1988 Rider was a "midnight rider", happening w/o public comment, input
or due process. We expect that the AZ Delegation (headed by Rep. Jim Kolbe)
will attempt the same thing this time around.
We expect that if Kolbe hasn't slipped the rider on already (behind closed
doors) he may offer an amendment on the floor or (more likely) slip it into
the bill in cttee later.
WE NEED KASICH AND OTHERS TO WORK AGAINST THIS RIDER!!
SHORT OF ACTUALLY STOPPING IT, WE WANT 2 things:
1. An immediate INVESTIGATION (General Accounting Office, Agent Inspectors
General, and if possible, a Justice Dept. Investigation.) The 1988 Rider
yielded a General Accounting Office investigation. It revealed that UA
misled Congress about their project, data, etc...But the GAO wasn't
completed until 1990 -- too late to do anything. WE KNOW THAT THE UA IS
MISREPRESENTING THEIR PROJECT AGAIN. MAJOR SECTIONS OF THEIR LOBBYING
PACKETS SENT TO CONGRESS AND THE PRESS ARE CATEGORICALLY UNTRUE. We have a
position paper with all of the most glaring factual misrepresentations we
have found so far this time around. It's long, but we will send this paper
to a few of you if you can assure us that you'll deliver it to key
congressional offices.
2. A COPY of what this rider LOOKS LIKE. We hope that whatever happens
happens out in the open, with hearings and full due process.
THE Congressional members who need to hear from YOU:
John Kasich (R-12th) will be a major player for or against us. We need OHIO
folks in his district (Columbus) to get to him. Staging a demo at his
office on Monday a.m. would be great, if it's possible. Maybe Pittsburgh
folks could help with this... Otherwise, we desparately need letters faxed
into him and phone calls!
(12th-R-OH) The Honorable John R. Kasich
U.S. House of Representatives
1131 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
Dist. Office # (Columbus) 614-469-7318
1-202-225-5355 1-202-225-7695(fx)
(BTW, When writing to a Chair of a cttee, it is proper to
address them as "Dear Mr. Chairman,")
Everyone in the AZ Congressional Delegation needs to hear from us, esp. Sen.
McCain (on Native American Issues, since he is the Chair of the Indian
Affairs Cttee) and Rep. Pastor (our only Democrat). Please e-mail them,
write or call...
The Honorable Senator John McCain
Senator_McCain@mccain.senate.gov
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
("Dear Mr. Chairman")
202-224-2235 fx: 202-228-2862
Senate Cttee on Indian Affairs: 202-224-2251
Mesa: 602-491-4300; Phx: 602-952-2410; Tucson: 520-670-6334
(2nd-D-AZ) The Honorable Ed Pastor
edpastor@hr.house.gov
U.S. House of Representatives
223 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
http://aspin.asu.edu/~pctp/pastor/pastor.html
1-202-225-4065 1-202-225-1655
Tucson: (520) 624-9986
Write Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-AZ) just to give him grief:
The DIShonorable Jim Kolbe
jimkolbe@hr.house.gov
House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
202 225 2542 fx: 202 225 0378
or 1661 N. Swan Rd., Suite 112
Tucson AZ 85712
520-881-3588, fax 520-322-9490
http://www.arizona.edu/kolbe/kolbe.html
We encourage people in Phoenix to write/call/complain to
John Shadegg:
(4th-R-AZ) The Honorable John Shadegg
US House of Representatives
503 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
1-202-225-3361 1-202-225-3462
PHX: 602-248-7779
http://aspin.asu.edu/~pctp/shadegg/shadegg.html
Others worth calling immediately:
(GA-R-6th) The Honorable Newton Gingrich (Speaker of the House and partial
to endangered species, apparently)
georgia6@hr.house.gov
U.S. House of Representatives
2428 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
("Dear Mr. Speaker,")
212-225-4510 fx: 202-225-4656
Marietta: 404-565-6398
Sen. John H. Chafee (R-RI), b/c he's Chair of Environment and Public Works
Cttee...
The Honorable John H. Chafee
senator_chafee@chafee.senate.gov
U.S. Senate
Dirksen Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
202-228-3976 fx: 202-224-4680
Providence: 401-528-5294
Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), b/c he's on the Enviro and Publ Works Cttee, and
could be sympathetic w/ enough calls:
The Honorable Max Baucus
ftp://ftp.senate.gov/member/mt/baucus/general/b2.html
max@baucus.senate.gov
511 Hart Building
US Senate
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-2651
Great Falls: 406-761-1574
Billings: 406-657-6790
Missoula: 406-329-3123
Kalispell: 406-756-1150
Helena: 406-449-5480
Bozeman: 406-586-6104
Butte: 406-782-8700
Senator Pete V. Domenici (R-NM) is the Budget Cttee Chair in the Senate, and
could also be extremely influential.. Please e-mail/call/fax him!
The Honorable Pete V. Domenici
senator_domenici@domenici.senate.gov
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
202-224-6621 fx: 202-224-7371
Sante Fe: 505-988-6511
Roswell: 505-623-6170
Albuquerque: 505-766-3481
Las Cruces: 505-526-5475
Sen. Robert Dole (R-Kansas), b/c he's Majority Leader and running for pres.
and has no Indian friends yet, and is (eek!) a UA graduate:
The Honorable Robert Dole
U.S. Senate
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-6521 fx: 202-224-8952
Whichita: 316-263-4956
Topeka: 913-295-2745
Kansas City: 913-371-6108
OTHERS (I'm too tired to write it all out):
10 MA Studds, Gerry E. (D) 1-202-225-3111 1-202-225-2212
237 Cannon
3 NJ Saxton, H. James (R) 1-202-225-4765 1-202-225-0778
339 Cannon
Among other firsts, the Mt. Graham Project makes the UA the first U.S.
university to oppose listing an endangered species, the first to seek and
obtain exemption from all cultural, environmental and religious laws, and
the first to oppose the beliefs of a Native American People in court!!!
PLEASE HELP!!! DON'T LET INSTITUTIONS LIKE THE UA BUY THE LAWS THEY
VIOLATE!! SAVE OUR HARD-WON ENVIRONMENTAL AND CULTURAL PROTECTION LAWS;
SAVE MT.GRAHAM!!
For info:
SEAC-SW
520-322-9819
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