Environmental Assessment for improvements at Supai Camp within Grand Canyon National Park available for public review and comment

Date: August 4, 2009
Contact: Maureen Oltrogge, 928-638-7779
Contact: Rachel Stanton, 928-774-9612

Grand Canyon, Ariz. – Grand Canyon National Park Superintendent Steve Martin has announced that an Environmental Assessment (EA) for Supai Camp Improvements is now available for public review and comment. This project is eligible for funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).

The park is proposing to complete improvements at Supai Camp located on the South Rim. Housing conditions at the camp are substandard.  Issues include lack of indoor plumbing, unsafe and unhealthy housing conditions, a shortage of housing opportunities for the Havasupai Tribe at this location, and poor road conditions and configuration.

The EA evaluates two alternatives including a no action alternative. The preferred alternative (Alternative B) includes rehabilitation of the five existing cabins; construction of six new housing units, with up to 14 additional units as funding becomes available; installation of a new sewer line to connect Supai Camp to the park’s wastewater treatment plant; and several other minor site improvements.

For hundreds of years, the Havasupai people have used the area that now constitutes the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. In the 1930’s the National Park Service (NPS) relocated Havasupai tribal members from Indian Garden and other areas of the South Rim to the area now known as Supai Camp. This Camp was established as a residential area for the Havasupai people to accommodate the tribes’ customary pattern of seasonal living that was common prior to the establishment of Grand Canyon National Park.  

A portion of this project would be funded by the ARRA which will invest $750 million in nearly 800 projects throughout the country. Recovery Act projects were selected through a rigorous process that identified projects meeting specific criteria to address the highest priority mission needs; create the largest number of jobs in the shortest period of time; and create lasting value for the American people. The Supai Camp Improvements project was selected because it will address high priority health and human safety concerns and provide increased employment and education opportunities to Havasupai tribal members.

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended, calls on federal agencies to consider environmental issues as part of their decision making process and to involve interested parties in the process.

The National Park Service encourages your review and comment on the EA. The EA will be open for public review for 20 days. The document is available electronically on the web at https://parkplanning.nps.gov/grca. Comments can be submitted online at the same web address (the preferred method) or mailed to Steve Martin, Superintendent, Grand Canyon National Park, Attention: Supai Camp EA, P.O. Box 129 (1 Village Loop for express mail), Grand Canyon, Arizona 86023. Comments will be accepted through August 24, 2009.

For questions and additional information about this project, or for copies of the EA, please contact Rachel Stanton, project planning leader, at [phone].

-NPS-