"Sithe, DPA pushing flawed plan"

This letter is in regards to the Navajo Nation and Diné Power Authority lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency filed on March 18.

Mr. Steven Begay told the AP that "Sithe is spending money, and we're spending money. The longer we wait, the more money we spend..."

Associated Press further states: "The EPA has received more than 1,000 comments on the air permit, each of which the agency has to respond to, said Margot Perez-Sullivan, a spokeswoman for the EPA in San Francisco.

"Typically it doesn't take that long, but there is really no normal time frame," she said, "it really depends on the complexity of the project, and in this case, it is a complex process."

Sithe and DPA are the real reason the tribe is losing millions of dollars. They continue to try pushing through a project with serious flaws that threaten the public health and the region's air, water and land. EPA and other federal and state agencies have documented all the flaws - lots of them - on everything from mercury pollution to water use to violating clean air standards.

EPA and the other agencies are simply being responsible in pointing out why, and every day that Sithe and DPA waste in pushing forward this horrible idea is more money out of the Navajo Tribe's pockets.

The huge flaws that EPA and other federal and New Mexico agencies have documented with Desert Rock should have been addressed at the beginning of the project. If Sithe and DPA had done their homework properly, they would have recognized what a bad idea it is and the Navajo Nation would not be wasting millions of dollars on a project that has no chance of ever being built.

George Hardeen, President Joe Shirley Jr.'s spokesman, has said that waiting is "costing not just the Navajo Nation but the investors who are helping us with this project."

This scam project is just a drop in the bucket for the owners (Blackstone Group) and Sithe Global's investors. A newspaper article dated March 12, 2008 titled, "Blackstone's Execs Reap Total $38 Mln Bonuses," says, "Blackstone Group also paid out $648 million in case distribution to its senior executives, according to filing with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

"Blackstone's high-profile co-founder and chief executive, Stephen Schwarzman, 61, wasn't paid a bonus, after reaping $684 million through selling a stake in the IPO. But, along with the company's other senior executives, he receives an annual salary of $350,000."

Why do DPA and Sithe Global think they should be given preferential treatment by forcing EPA to make a ruling - just because they have the money to sue EPA? DPA and Sithe Global crying about allegedly slow EPA action on a permit has nothing to complain about.

Cecilia Barber
Sanostee, N.M.