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<br />JUL-II-97 13,33 FROM'M.B.S.S. <br /> <br />ID'970 247 8827 <br /> <br />PAGE 17/2 <br /> <br />m <br />~ <br />N <br /> <br />NEWS ~:::~~ <br />. . '~~EGAL DEFENSE FUND <br /> <br />For Immediate Release <br /> <br />Contact: <br /> <br />July 10, 1997 <br /> <br />Mary Wells <br />(202) 6674500 <br />Robert WIYgu! <br />(303) 623-9466 <br /> <br />Animas-La Plata Dies at the Hands of Its Supporters <br />New ALP "Lite" Proposal Has the Same Fatal Flaws and ~ore <br /> <br />(Washington, D.C.) ... Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund, formerly the Sierra Club Legal <br />Defense Fund, applauded the recent admission by supporters of the AnimaS-La Plata (ALP) water <br />project that the $744 million boondoggle need not be built. Legal Defense Fund attorneys <br />warned, howev-er, that the "ALP Lite" proposed by ALP supporters has serious economic; <br />environmental, and legal problems ofits own. . <br /> <br />"ALP Lite is a scam," said Mary Wells, an Eartbjustice Legal Defense Fund Policy Analyst. <br />"ALP supporters have finally admitted that the project is unne=sary, but they still want tBxpayers to <br />pony up over a C{UMter billion dollars for a project that will wreak havoc on the environment and will <br />not deliver theWat.er required for Native Americans in the:region." <br /> <br />. ." . <br />In representing a coalition of Native American, enviionmentaJ, and taxpayer groups <br />seeking sensible alternatives to Animas-La Plata, Eartb.justice LDF has repeatedly shown that the <br />water project ...iolates federal environmental and reclamation laws. Anjma.~-La Plm would <br />violate the Endangered Species Act by threatening native fishes, cause virtually continuous water <br />quality violations, and destroy hundreds of acres of weilimds. <br /> <br />Animas-La Plata ''Lite'' has its own unique set of problems: <br /> <br />. It is a brand new proposal, which has not been authorized by Congress, which has not <br />undergone any public review and whose environmental impacts have Dot been studied_ <br /> <br />. It will not deliver to Ute tnbal lands any of the water required by the 1988 agreement <br />settling the Ute tribes' water rights. Non-Indians in the region still receive substantial taxpayer <br />subsidized benefits from the project. <br /> <br />- more - <br /> <br />1625 MassachusertsAvenue, N.W:, Suite 702, Washington, DC 20036-1991 <br />(202) 667-4500 . (202) 667-2356 (FAX) . emai/: scldf@igc.apc.org <br /> <br />@ ! ~A, ?<<)ded, pcSI<or.swner, chlorr:nq..ft=~ pt:lJ>U. The ~al Oefer.se Fr.md ...,orks.",ith bul is not p:zn ofrlte Si4rrtl Clvh. <br />