Desert Rock
One more chance to comment



June 19, 2007


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The U.S. Department of Interior will hold another series of public hearings about the proposed Desert Rock coal-fired power plant south of Shiprock.

In other words, area residents have one more chance to make their wishes known to the federal government. This round of hearings follows the release of the draft environmental impact last month. The public demanded more hearings than were originally scheduled. The comment period will close Aug. 20.

Those who comment will not be telling Interior anything its staff does not already know, but the concerns about Desert Rock are worth repeating. The draft EIS appeared to say that the proposed plant would have no "significant" effect on air quality in Montezuma County.

Frankly, that's hard to believe. Pollution from the two existing coal-fired power plants in that region is often visible from many parts of Southwest Colorado.

Current plans are to make Desert Rock "one of the cleanest coal-burning plants in the country," but is that good enough? Why not the very cleanest? Surely it is easier to build a clean-burning plant than to retrofit an older one, as should be done with the two existing plants and others in the region.

Another question that must be answered is whether "one of the cleanest" is clean enough. There are communities much closer to the proposed plant than Cortez and Durango; even if there's no significant pollution in Southwest Colorado, what will the air be like nearer the plant? The draft EIS does mention small increases in mercury and selenium to areas south of here. Is any amount of mercury safe for the people who spend their lives downwind of the plants?

The 1,500 megawatts of electricity generated by the plant will not be used on the Navajo Nation. Instead, power will be exported to the south and the west, but the pollution will stay in the Four Corners. So will the jobs, but how much economic growth can be bought at the expense of health?

It is difficult to imagine that the plant will not go forward. The demand for electrical energy is growing rapidly, and economic development is hard to come by in that area. Holding that idea realistically in mind while continuing to protest, there are three ideas upon which interested locals must insist:

• Desert Rock needs to have the absolute best technology to limit emissions. It needs to be not "one of the safest" but the safest with no exceptions, and it needs to remain so by adopting new technology as it becomes available.

• More and better monitoring equipment needs to be placed around the area so that residents breathing that brown air will have factual data. If there indeed are detrimental effects not in line with the promises currently being made, affected citizens must have recourse to demand the air be made cleaner.

• The jobs and economic growth - the reasons the power-plant proposal is attractive to some of the Navajo who live near there - must be guaranteed during the long term. Construction jobs are short-lived, and the operation of a power plant does not take a huge number of people during the long term, but the effects of the pollution emitted by the plant are permanent. There is good reason to doubt that the relationship will be as beneficial for the Navajo populace as it will be for Sithe Global Power, a Houston firm.

Clean air is a basic right, and Four Corners residents are well within their rights to demand it. Everyone who is concerned about regional air quality should attend the meetings and comment again, to keep emphasizing that point.

If the deal is done despite local protests, those same people should keep lobbying the federal government for the health and safety of all.


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Contents copyright ©, the Durango Herald. All rights reserved.





Mike Eisenfeld
meisenfeld@frontier.net

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Indian Affairs


Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Desert Rock
Energy Project and the Navajo Mine Extension Project, San Juan County,
NM

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice advises the public that the Bureau of Indian
Affairs (BIA) as lead agency, with the Navajo Nation, U.S. Bureau of
Land Management (BLM), Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation and
Enforcement (OSM), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Army Corps
of Engineers (USACE) as cooperating agencies, intends to file a Draft
Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) with the EPA for the proposed
Desert Rock Energy and Navajo Mine Extension projects. The purpose of
the proposed action is to help meet the economic development needs of
the Navajo Nation. This notice also announces a series of public
hearings to receive comments on the DEIS.

DATES: Written comments on the DEIS must arrive by August 20, 2007. The
dates and times for the public hearings are as follows:
July 17, 2007, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
July 18, 2007 (2), 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
July 19, 2007, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
July 20, 2007, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
July 23, 2007 (2), 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
July 24, 2007 (2), 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
July 25, 2007, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

ADDRESSES: You may mail or hand carry written comments to Harrilene
Yazzie, NEPA Coordinator, Navajo Regional Office, Bureau of Indian
Affairs, P.O. Box 1060, Gallup, New Mexico 87305. Comments may also be
sent by e-mail to the project Web site, http://www.desertrockenergy.com.
, or to the BIA contractor's e-mail account for this project, DesertrockEIS@urscorp.com. Please include the caption,

``Desert Rock Energy Project DEIS Comments'' at the top of your letter
or in the subject line of your e-mail message; be specific in your
comments and cite the chapter, page, paragraph, and sentence to which
they pertain; and include your name and return address in your letter
or message.
The DEIS is available for review at the BIA Office, 301 West Hill
Street, Gallup, New Mexico 87305. A limited number of CD and paper
copies of the DEIS are also available upon request. You may obtain a CD
or paper copy by contacting Harrilene Yazzie at the BIA mailing address
provided above, at her telephone number shown below, or by fax at (505)
863-8324.
The addresses/locations for the public hearings are as follows:
July 17, 5 p.m. Farmington Civic Center, 200 West
Arrington, Farmington, NM.
July 18, 10 a.m. Ute Mountain Casino, Towaoc, CO. US 491/
160, 11 miles south of Cortez, CO.
July 18, 5 p.m. Iron Horse Inn, 5800 North Main Avenue,
Durango, CO.
July 19, 1 p.m. Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, 2401 12th
Street, NW. (1 block north of I-40), Albuquerque, NM.
July 20, 1 p.m. Larrazolo Auditorium, Runnels Building,
1190 St. Francis Drive, Santa Fe, NM.
July 23, 10 a.m. Shiprock Chapter House, Shiprock, NM. US
491, across from the Catholic Church.
July 23, 5 p.m. Nenahnezad Chapter House, Fruitland, NM.
From US 64, go south on County Road 6675, through the stoplight and
across the San Juan River Bridge. Take the first road on the right past
the bridge for approximately 0.5 miles to the Chapter House.
July 24, 10 a.m. Burnham Chapter House. From US 491
between Shiprock and Gallup, NM, go east at Burnham Junction for 12
miles on N-5. The Chapter House is on the south side of the road.
July 24, 5 p.m. Veterans Memorial Center, Sanostee Chapter
Compound, Road N-34, Sanostee, NM.
July 25, 10 a.m. Navajo Nation Museum, Hwy. 264 and Postal
Loop Road, Window Rock, AZ.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Harrilene Yazzie, (505) 863-8287.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background on the Desert Rock Energy Project

The DEIS discloses probable environmental effects of the proposed
Desert Rock Energy Project (or referred to herein as Desert Rock Energy
Project or proposed project/action) and the Navajo Mine Extension
Project (or referred to herein as the Navajo Mine Extension Project or
Area IV North, Area IV South and Area V of the BHP Navajo Coal Company
[BNCC] Lease Area).
The applicants, Sithe Global Power, LLC (Sithe) by and through the
Desert Rock Energy Company, LLC, and Dine Power Authority (DPA), a
Navajo Nation enterprise, are proposing to develop and construct the
Desert Rock Energy Project. Desert Rock Energy Company, LLC, entered
into an agreement with DPA to develop and construct a coal-fired power
plant on the Navajo Reservation. Desert Rock Energy Company, LLC, is a
privately held, independent power company and a limited liability
corporation formed under the laws of the State of Delaware. DPA was
established by the Navajo Nation Council to develop utility-scale
energy projects on behalf of the Navajo Nation for the economic benefit
of the Navajo people.
The proposed project involves the construction and operation of a
coal-fired electrical power plant that would generate up to 1,500
megawatts (MW) of power; the extension of existing surface coal mining
operations at the Navajo Mine to provide fuel for the power plant;
disposal of coal combustion by-products (CCBs); and mine reclamation
operations, with associated mine support facilities and activities. The
proposed project would also include a water well field with supply
pipeline to the power plant, transmission lines, a receiving electrical
station, other upgrades and ancillary facilities required in the
production and transmission of electricity, and new access roads.
The proposed project is located approximately 30 miles southwest of
Farmington in San Juan County, New Mexico, and is entirely on Indian
trust lands within the exterior boundaries of the Navajo Nation. The
power plant would be constructed on a 592-acre parcel immediately
adjacent on the west to Area IV North of the BNCC Lease Area. The coal
fuel supply would be produced from Areas IV South and V of the BNCC
Lease Area and transported by conveyor to a proposed coal preparation
facility located in Area IV North of the BNCC lease area, near the
power plant.

[[Page 34036]]

Purpose and Need for the Proposed Project

The purpose of the proposed action is to help meet the Navajo
Nation's need to benefit economically from the development of its coal
resources. Construction of the Desert Rock power plant would address
this need, as well as regional power needs in general, by
Supporting the Navajo Nation's objective for economic
development by providing long-term employment opportunities and revenue
cash-flow streams from the sale of Navajo natural resources (e.g.,
water, coal);
using Navajo Nation coal to generate electricity;
helping meet the demand for up to 2,000 MW of electrical
power in the rapidly growing southwestern United States; and
providing fuel diversity, hence a more economically stable
and predictable power supply for utilities in the Southwest.

Proposed Federal Agency Actions

The proposed action includes several elements that require
approvals, grants of rights-of-way, or permits by Federal agencies and
the Navajo Nation. These are as follows:
BIA-Approval of the long-term business land lease between
DPA and the Navajo Nation, of the sublease between DPA and Desert Rock
Energy Company, LLC, and of the rights-of-way requested for the
proposed project.
OSM-Approval of revisions to BNCC's current SMCRA permit
to allow development of coal processing facilities, conveyance systems,
and infrastructure in Area IV North of the BNCC Lease Area and approval
of a future SMCRA permit application to allow coal mining, CCB
disposal, and reclamation activities in Area IV South and Area V of the
BNCC Lease Area.
BLM-Approval of the Resource Recovery and Protection Plan
or a Mine Plan of Operations for Area IV South and Area V of the BNCC
Lease Area.
USACE-Approval of an Individual Permit for the Desert Rock
Energy Project under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) and of
Nationwide Permits or an Individual Permit under Section 404 of the CWA
for the mining operations in Area IV South and Area V of the BNCC Lease
Area.
EPA-Approval of a significant revision to BNCC's National
Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit associated with
the mining and reclamation operations and coal preparation facilities.
Whether this constitute a new source permitting action subject to the
National Environmental Policy Act is determined by criteria set forth
in 40 CFR 122.29(b).
Navajo Nation--The Navajo Nation's action, as a sovereign
government and cooperating agency, is the approval of a land lease
package that ensures economic development on tribal lands in compliance
with the Navajo Nation Code and applicable Federal law.
The above approvals, taken together, constitute the Proposed
Action, which consists of (1) the construction, operation, and
maintenance of the Desert Rock Energy Project and associated water
supply wells, water supply pipelines, transmission system
interconnection, other facilities required for the generation and
distribution of electrical power, and new access roads; and (2) the
approval of surface coal mining, CCB disposal, and reclamation
operations at the Navajo Mine Extension Project to supply coal to the
Desert Rock power plant.

Public Meetings

Public meetings on the DEIS will include, (1) a presentation on the
Desert Rock Energy Project and DEIS, (2) an area with displays where
meeting attendees may discuss the project proposal and the EIS process
with BIA and others, (3) an area where meeting attendees may record and
submit written comments, and (4) an area where an BIA representative
and a transcriber will record oral comments. To assist the transcriber
and ensure an accurate record, BIA requests that each presenter of oral
comments provide a written copy of his or her comments, if possible. A
Navajo interpreter will be present at the meetings on the Navajo Indian
Reservation.
If you are disabled or need special accommodations to attend one of
the meetings, contact the person under the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT section above at least one week before the meeting.

Public Comment Availability

Comments, including names and addresses of respondents, will be
available for public review at the mailing address shown in the
ADDRESSES section, during regular business hours, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30
p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays. Individual respondents
may request confidentiality. If you wish us to withhold your name and/
or address from public review or from disclosure under the Freedom of
Information Act, you must state this prominently at the beginning of
your written comment. Such requests will be honored to the extent
allowed by law. We will not, however, consider anonymous comments. All
submissions from organizations or businesses, and from individuals
identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations
or businesses, will be made available for public inspection in their
entirety.

Authority

This notice is published in accordance with section 1503.1 of the
Council on Environmental Quality Regulations (40 CFR, parts 1500
through 1508) implementing the procedural requirements of the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et. seq.),
and the Department of the Interior Manual (516 DM 1-6), and is in the
exercise of authority delegated to the Assistant Secretary--Indian
Affairs by 209 DM 8.

Willie R. Taylor,
Director,Office of Environmental Policy and Compliance.
[FR Doc. E7-11905 Filed 6-19-07; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310-W7-P






Mike Eisenfeld
meisenfeld@frontier.net