BIA statement supports Desert Rock proposal

By Lisa Meerts, The Daily Times
May 22, 2007

The Bureau of Indian Affairs made available on Monday a draft
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) draft that recommends the
proposed coal-fired Desert Rock Power Plant project continues forward
as planned.

The Desert Rock Energy Company — formed of Houston-based developer
Sithe Global and the Diné Power Authority, a Navajo Nation enterprise
— wants to build a 1,500-megawatt power plant near Burnham on the
Navajo Nation. The company received a draft air permit from the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency last spring and the EIS marks the
second of several steps needed to move forward with the project, which
could begin as early as next year.

"It's been some time since we've been working on this, and I'm glad
we're finally at the point of getting it out," said Steven Begay, Diné
Power Authority general manager.

The document, available online at www.desertrockenergy.com, compared
the environmental effects of taking no action, building the plant as
proposed or building a scaled down, 550-megawatt version of the power
plant. Per megawatt generated, the proposed 1,500-megawatt plant is
cleaner, though it would emit more total emissions, the statement says.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs did not reply to questions asked about
the environmental impact statement by deadline on Monday.

The amount of carbon dioxide the proposed plant would emit, 12.7
million tons annually, astounded Mike Eisenfeld, New Mexico staff
organizer for the San Juan Citizens Alliance. He criticized the bureau
for neglecting to consider more alternatives and worried about
comments he felt were glossed over.

The document states environmental justice is a concern regardless of
the alternative chosen because the area is populated
disproportionately with minorities and low-income residents. The
bureau determined air pollutions would increase under both action
alternatives but not beyond health-protective standards. It also
stated the cumulative cancer risk is greater than what the U.S. EPA
considers acceptable, but attributed it to existing concentrations of
arsenic in the soil and native vegetation.

"When you say that, in your document, that these things are going to
happen, how do you expect people who live in these communities to
respond?" Eisenfeld asked.

Begay considered the question of environmental justice to be a conundrum.

"It's an oxymoron to me either way," he said. "If there are massive
power outages and the whole country blacks out, is that environmental
justice or injustice? Who's winning? I don't know."

Opponents have criticized the plant's developers because the energy
generated likely would feed large metro markets in the West, such as
Las Vegas or Phoenix. Proponents have cited the rapidly growing need
for power in the Southwest as a reason to build the plant, in addition
to the economic benefits it would bring the Navajo Nation and
surrounding communities.

Frank Maisano, a spokesman for Sithe Global, called the draft
statement an important step forward to helping the Navajo Nation
realize the benefits of the plant. At least 400 jobs will be created
through its construction and the Navajo Nation would increase its
annual budget by a third through lease payments.

"The environmental justice issue is flipped on its head here," he
said, noting the power plant will improve the quality of life for
Navajos by creating jobs and funding tribal programs.

Residents have 60 days to comment on the draft statement after a
notice of availability has been published in the Federal Register.
Written comments can be mailed to Harrilene Yazzi, regional NEPA
coordinator, Desert Rock Energy Project EIS, Bureau of Indian Affairs,
Navajo Regional Office, P.O. Box 1060, Gallup, NM 87305.

Comments can be e-mailed through the project Web site,
www.desertrockenergy.com, because the bureau does not have e-mail
access. Oral comments can be taken at public hearings planned on the
Navajo Nation, San Juan County and in southwest Colorado. Hearing
dates will be announced soon.


Lisa Meerts: lmeerts@daily-times.com


For further reading on the subject of the effects of uranium mining, more can be found in The Navajo People and Uranium Mining, edited by Doug Brugge, Timothy Benally, and Esther Yazzie-Lewis.


Reprinted as an historical reference document under the Fair Use doctrine of international copyright law. http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html