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Office
of Surface Mining won’t discuss Peabody’s mining application
with Hopi and Navajo people
By
Tanya Lee
Flagstaff Resident
In
what appears to be a move to ignore Black Mesa Trust’s comments on
Peabody Energy’s revised mining plan for Black Mesa Mine and its
application for a permanent permit for the mine submitted in
January, the Office of Surface Mining has agreed to Peabody
Energy’s request to postpone indefinitely the informal conferences
on the matter that they promised to hold this summer.
"This
is yet another totally unacceptable example of collusion between the
government agency that is supposed to be overseeing mining and a
private coal mining company," said Vernon Masayesva, executive
director of Black Mesa Trust.
"Peabody
is obviously trying to sideline the Environmental Impact Study and
Cumulative Hydrological Impact Assessment that OSM assured us would
be conducted as part of its evaluation of Peabody’s application.
The coal company does not want public scrutiny of their corporate
practices nor does it want to respond to the many allegations,
concerns and comments raised by Black Mesa Trust and its
attorneys."
Among
those concerns is the 250 million gallons of water that Peabody
impounds at the mine site each year.
"We
must have a full and fair analysis of the cultural and environmental
impacts of the Black Mesa Mine through a meaningful public
participation process," said Masayesva.
In
a May 14 letter to OSM, Peabody said that they would amend their
Jan. 19 Black Mesa Mine Permanent Program Permit and J-23 Mine Plan
Revision, noting that the revised plan as originally submitted would
have required an "extensive regulatory review process of up to
two years."
Public
comments on the Jan. 19 plan were due on April 29, and Black Mesa
Trust and its attorneys submitted detailed technical comments and
questions as well as comments from farmers and residents living in
the area affected by the mining. Most of the concerns focused on
damage to the N-aquifer, the sole source of drinking water for the
Hopi people and about 27,000 Navajos living on and near Black Mesa.
In
the plan submitted in January, Peabody requested permission to
increase its use of N-aquifer water to 5,700 acre feet a year — 32
percent more water than the company is currently pumping out of the
aquifer, primarily to slurry coal from Black Mesa to the Mohave
Generating Station in Laughlin, Nev..
On
May 14, just two weeks after Black Mesa Trust and its attorneys
submitted comments on the plan, Peabody wrote to OSM stating that
"Mohave participants [including the power plant’s major
owner, Southern California Edison, the Hopi Tribe, Navajo Nation and
Peabody itself] recently identified a secure source of water from
the Lower Colorado River and have initiated an extensive engineering
analysis for developing a new pipeline."
They
admitted, however, that "the feasibility and cost of the
alternative is still being investigated" and that "the
resources for constructing the water delivery system have not been
committed."
"The
water issue on Black Mesa has been analyzed for 30 years, and still
our washes and springs are dying, our people are buying water from
the grocery store, and our farmers are seeing their crops
fail," said Masayesva.
"It
could take months to complete this new analysis, and years to find
the money and build the pipeline. In the meantime, Peabody will keep
using our drinking water to mine and transport coal," he
continued.
Masayesva
pointed out that for the last 10 years, Peabody, the U.S.
government, and the tribes have been talking about a pipeline from
Lake Powell to supply water for the slurry operation. "In
fact," he said, "government officials reported that
bringing water from Lake Powell was legally and economically
feasible, and the Navajo Tribe identified a source for that water in
1984. The Bureau of Land Reclamation agreed that the Navajo idea was
workable and said that they would support it."
He
added, "Had the parties gotten serious about a pipeline back in
the early 1990s we might not be talking about switching to another
water source at the 11th hour! We are optimistic that the parties
will solve this problem, but we can’t wait another 10 years, or
even one year, while they argue about who is going to pay for the
plumbing."
"Where
are our tribal leaders, our Chairman and our Tribal Council?"
asked Leonard Selestewa, President of Black Mesa Trust. "The
Hopi/Reliant power plant project was terminated because the Hopi
people did not want it. Has the Tribal Council asked the people
whether this new pipeline proposal is an acceptable plan?
"Now
is the time for the Council to start to restore the faith of the
Hopi people in its government. They need to consult with us before
they agree to a plan that could mean that N-aquifer water will
continue to be pumped for years to come," he said.
For more information about Black Mesa Trust, visit www.blackmesatrust.org.
Editor’s note: Tanya Lee is affiliated with Black Mesa
Trust.
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