Governor Urges EPA To Rethink Proposed New Rules For NGS

By Tammy Gray-Searles
   Operation of the Navajo Generating Station, located near Page, is at risk, according to Governor Jan Brewer, if the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proceeds with proposed new rules.
   “The new federal rules under consideration by the EPA threaten to close the Navajo Generating Station (NGS) in Northern Arizona, subsequently impacting jobs and water costs for businesses, governments and citizens throughout Arizona,” Brewer noted in an announcement.
   Brewer sent a five-page letter to EPA Regional Administrator Laura Yoshii outlining her concerns.
   “As currently structured, the rulemaking process does not appear to be addressing the critical role that NGS plays in water delivery in Arizona or in the economic sustainability of the Navajo and Hopi reservations,” she wrote. “…furthermore, it is also my understanding that little to no consultation has occurred with the affected tribes in this matter. This is in direct contradiction to your policies on tribal consultation. To that point, not only are the Navajo Nation and Hopi Tribe directly affected, but also affected are the Arizona tribes that have or expect to have Indian water rights settlements, and that depend on Central Arizona Project (CAP) water to meet their water needs.”
   The governor went on to outline the role of NGS in the state, noting that it is “essentially the sole source of power for CAP,” and that CAP water meets 45 percent of the water demand for the City of Phoenix, and by 2020 will meet nearly 80 percent of the water demand for the City of Tucson. She also pointed out the value of employment offered by NGS, and the high unemployment rate on the Hopi and Navajo reservations.
   “The 2000 Census also revealed that over 43 percent of the Navajo population and over 45 percent of the Hopi population live below the poverty line. By comparison, less than 10 percent of Arizonans and a little over nine percent of the United States population as a whole live below the poverty line,” she wrote in the letter to the EPA. “In the face of such economic disadvantage, the Navajo Generating Station represents a critical source of employment and revenue for tribes and their people.”
   According to Brewer, the generating station has 545 full-time employees, of which 80 percent are Navajo. The Kayenta Mine, which supplies coal to the station, employs 422 tribal members. Together, the governor estimates that the generating station and the mine will add $140 million to the Navajo Nation’s economy and $12 million to the Hopi Tribe’s economy in 2009.
   The governor asks the EPA to consider the environmental upgrades already in place at the generating station, and to carefully weigh the cost of additional upgrades against their potential benefit. According to Brewer, NGS is in the process of installing $40 million worth of equipment to reduce emissions. She notes that the type of emissions reduction technology that would be required under the new rules would be “prohibitively expensive” and does not achieve a significant amount of emission reduction. She also pointed out that the plan carries other risks to communities.
   “Morevoer, the plan to transport 31 tons of anhydrous ammonia via approximately two tanker trucks up remote, rural roads each day threatens the health, safety and welfare of local communities while increasing carbon emissions and thereby negating many of the clean air improvements which you presumably seek,” she wrote to the EPA. “It is my hope that you will thoughtfully and carefully weigh other critical elements of the climate debate: economic feasibility, sustainability, quality of life and growth.”
   The governor also addressed the citizens of Arizona, stating, “In these challenging economic times, the federal government should look more carefully at impacts to jobs and sustainable growth so as to avoid impractical or unjustified environmental mandates. Proposed federal rules like these that do not adequately account for or consider the costs and benefits can thwart real environmental and energy progress. And while my administration has demonstrated through action my full commitment to new and important solar and clean energy production and improvements, we must insist that the federal government carefully consider the risks and rewards of these significant new regulations. In this case, EPA can avoid harmful impacts if it relies on more affordable, but environmentally aggressive controls to ensure cleaner air and clearer views.”