Editorial, The Farmington Daily Times, April 19, 2010:

Time for Desert Rock Supporters to Move On

It seemed like it was doomed from the start.

In 2006, early work at the planned site of the coal-fired Desert Rock Power Plant brought out protestors from the nearby community of Burnham. Despite the added jobs the plant would bring to help reduce the Navajo Nation's stifling unemployment rate, these protestors did not want another coal power plant in the region polluting the skies.

Even back then, with a Republican president in office who supported coal power, it seemed doubtful that the plant would ever get built.

Now, it appears the coffin is finally getting nailed shut.

This was the year Desert Rock was supposed to begin operation, but instead they do not have an air permit from the federal government, and the company's planned operator, Houston-based Sithe Global, is pulling out of the coal marketplace. They've already shuttered plans for another coal plant in Pennsylvania, and converted plans for another in Nevada to natural gas plant.

Despite these monumental difficulties, the Navajo Nation government continues to show nothing less than complete support for the Desert Rock project, and it's difficult to understand why. No one gains anything by stretching out the Desert Rock saga, least of all the Navajo people who were going to be employed at the power plant.

Navajo leaders must be proactive on this matter if they want to be faithful to their constituents. Sithe Global has stated it wants to build a power plant on Navajo land, but coal continues

to run into opposition. Maybe it's time to shake that plan up a bit.

A natural gas plant would take advantage of our local abundance of the substance, as well as give off significantly less emissions than coal. In that situation, everyone wins: local natural gas companies, unemployed Navajo and the environment.

There also are possibilities in the areas of renewable energy such as solar and wind, which give off no pollution. Was there ever a plan B in the cards regarding Desert Rock?

If so, now would be a good time reveal it.