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Power lines on Mount Graham may be halted by lawsuit

Arizona Summer Wildcat

As the UA prepares to give the observatory at Mount Graham a new source of power, a lawsuit has been filled to keep the university from building anything further on the mountain.

An 18-mile underground power line is to be built to replace the observatory's dependence on diesel fuel.

However, last Friday the Mount Graham Coalition and Apache cultural organizations filed suit against the University of Arizona to halt the construction and reduce the university's ability to add new facilities to the observatory, said Robin Silver, a member of the Mount Graham Coalition.

While the construction has been permitted by the United States Forest Service, Silver said that the construction is not in the mountain's best interest.

"This is no different than when a developer puts roads in a virgin desert," he said. "It's a part of their master plan to put a telescope city up there."

When the construction will begin is unclear, but Buddy Powell, associate director of Steward Observatory, said the power lines will be safer to the environment because electricity is cleaner than diesel fuel.

"It's all very surprising (that the lawsuit was filed), and it shows that they're not at all serious about environmental issues," he said.

Powell added that he's not concerned the lawsuit will keep the university from moving forward with this project.

Though UA officials are not worried about what effect the lawsuit may have, Silver said a victory for the coalition is inevitable.

"This lawsuit will win outright," Silver said. "The lease of the university does not permit this."

The Apache cultural groups have become involved in the lawsuit because they are opposed to the observatory on Mt. Graham because of the mountain's importance to their tribe, said Ola Cassadore Davis, a member of the Apache Survival Coalition.

"Mt. Graham is a very sacred mountain to all the medicine men and medicine women," Davis said.