Environmental group sues Fort Huachuca to release documents about harm to river

The Tucson-based Center for Biological Diversity claims Fort Huachuca’s operations are contributing to drying of the San Pedro River. An environmental group is going to court to force Fort Huachuca to release documents it says show the base is hiding reports about how its groundwater pumping is damaging the San Pedro River. Robin Silver, co-founder of the Center for Biological Diversity, said the group previously took legal action to get federal agencies to let loose of reports that pumping attributable to the fort was harming the levels of the river as early as 2003. He said they also showed ongoing pumping already had contributed to a deficit in water to keep the river free flowing. But he said requests for public records going back 10 months have failed to provide all the documents that show the ongoing effects of the fort’s activities on the river, as well as on endangered species that occupy the area. That failure to respond promptly violates the federal Freedom of Information Act, he said. “This is about the cover-up of the report that basically shows the fort is already damaging the river,” Silver said. Silver said the reports will show that the pumping will […]

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