Statements prepared to continue operations of Navajo Generating Station, Kayenta Mine Complex

Posted: Thursday, May 29, 2014

PHOENIX — The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) has published a Notice of Intent (NOI) in the Federal Register to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to study the human and environmental effects of extending operations of the Navajo Generating Station (NGS), located near Page, and the associated production of coal at the Kayenta Mine, located near Kayenta, from 2020 through 2044.

The EIS proposes to develop and analyze an array of alternatives for producing electricity at the NGS using coal supplied by the Kayenta Mine. The NGS provides power to the southwestern United States, including the power to operate the pumps for Central Arizona Project (CAP) canal water to be delivered to central and southern Arizona tribes, farmers and cities.

The NGS is located on tribal trust lands, and participants lease the lands for the plant from the Navajo Nation. The current lease expires on Dec. 22, 2019. Although the Navajo Nation has approved an extension of the lease terms, federal approval must be obtained before the lease amendment can be executed, and approvals for transmission line rights-of-way are also needed.

Additionally, for the Kayenta Mine to continue supplying coal to the NGS through 2044, the permit to operate the Kayenta Mine must be revised, requiring several federal agency approvals and/or actions.

Reclamation, as a participant in the NGS, uses its share of the power generated to operate the CAP pump facilities and will serve as the lead federal agency in preparing the EIS. The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement and the Bureau of Indian Affairs are key cooperating agencies. Other federal agencies and tribes who are also involved with the proposal to continue operations have been invited to be cooperating agencies in the development of the EIS.

The NOI is available at ngskmc-eis.net(click on “News” or www.Federalregister.gov).

© Copyright 2014, White Mountain Independent, Show Low, AZ

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