by Vanessa
Charles
http://www.hopi.nsn.us/
31 January 2005
Media Advisory
WHAT: Hopi tribal
chairman Wayne Taylor, Jr. will address the Senate Natural
Resource Committee on the threat to the survival of the Hopi Tribe
pending a possible closure of the Mohave Generating Station in
Laughlin, Nevada and the Black Mesa coal mine.
WHEN: Wednesday,
February 2, 2005 at 1:30 p.m.
WHERE: State
Senate, Senate Room 109 Phoenix, AZ CONTACT: Vanessa Charles
Public Relations Officer 928-734-3283 (o) Dave Palermo Special
Assistant to the Chairman 928-734-3102 (o)
Background
The Hopi tribe is locked
in a protracted legal battle to keep the Mohave Generating Station
in Laughlin, Nevada open and operating.
The massive, coal-fired
plant provides electrical power to Southern California and potions
of Arizona and Nevada. The plant is fueled by coal mined at Black
Mesa, which is jointly owned by the Hopi Tribe and the Navajo
Nation. The coal is transported 273 miles by a water slurry
pipeline to the plant. Since 1999, a consent decree stemming from
a Federal lawsuit by the Sierra Club, Grand Canyon Trust, and
National Parks and Conservation Association, mandates that the
plant undergo environmental upgrades. More than likely,
installation of the plant modifications will result in a temporary
shutdown. The Hopi Tribe stands to lose approximately one-third of
its operating budget if the Mohave plant and Black Mesa mine were
to shut down, temporarily or otherwise.
In additional to the
environmental issues, the slurry to transport coal from Black Mesa
to Mohave uses water from the Navajo Aquifer, the sole source of
drinking water, and water for municipal and ceremonial purposes.
To preserve the Navajo Aquifer, the Hopi Tribe has embarked on a
strategy to import water to Hopi to prevent the permanent closure
of Black Mesa and to generate economic development and a more
diversified economy on the Hopi Homeland.
SENAA REBUTTAL
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