Desert Rock land set aside
Power plant to be built on nearly 600 acres of land in Nenahnezad Chapter

By Kathy Helms
Diné Bureau

FORT DEFIANCE — While Resources Committee members were in Rincon Marquez, N.M., celebrating the dedication of a waterline from Torreon last Thursday, Resources' Norman John II of Twin Lakes stayed behind to push legislation through Economic Development Committee to withdraw land for the Desert Rock Energy Project.

On Tuesday, Diné Power Authority (DPA) reportedly will seek the commitment of 4,500 acre feet of water for the 1,500 megawatt coal-fired electric generation facility.

STEAG Power, LLC, original developer of the project before handing it off to Houston-based Sithe Global Power LLC, invested more than $1.3 million in the project under its development agreement with DPA.

Public scoping meetings regarding the project were held last week in Cortez, Colo., Sanostee, Burnham, Shiprock and Albuquerque.

However, before the scoping meeting in Albuquerque Thursday afternoon, John rushed legislation approving the land withdrawal of 591.84 acres in Nenahnezad Chapter for the Desert Rock project.

The legislation was signed off on by Resources' Director Arvin Trujillo and various other division directors, and approved by the Economic Development Committee. The legislation reportedly will not have to be approved by any other committee.

The land withdrawal was news to members of Diné Care who attended the scoping meetings and said no mention was made of the pending withdrawal because the exact location of the power plant is in dispute over boundary issues.

The Navajo Nation reportedly has determined that the plant will be located in Nenahnezad Chapter, based on a 1970's-era ruling by the Navajo Supreme Court.

Resources Committee Chairman George Arthur represents Burnham/San Juan/Nenahnezad chapters. Both Burnham and Nenahnezad submitted wish lists to Sithe Global.

Burnham was requesting from Sithe: $25,000 for job training upon the start of plant construction, $20,000 annually for scholarships for eligible Burnham residents; improvements to the chapter house and Senior Citizen Center totaling about $250,000; $25,000 for parks and rodeo facilities, $20,000 to the community for the chapter's elders, low-income individuals and veterans; a computer resource center within the chapter house with a wireless network and up to 10 computers; and land payments to each of the land users.

Nenahnezad's wish list has not been disclosed.

Water issues
Tomorrow apparently is the day for water issues, both in other areas of the Navajo Nation and in Washington, D.C..

The Navajo Nation Water Rights Commission will conduct a meeting at 10 a.m. Tuesday at Huerfano Chapter House concerning the San Juan River settlement agreement. The meeting is directed at interested Eastern and Northern Agency allottees.

Crownpoint and Church Rock communities in the Eastern Agency are the target of future uranium mining by Hydro Resources Inc., using in-situ leach technology which basically uses water to flush out the uranium.

Also on Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici and the Energy Committee will conduct a half-day conference on water to address the challenge of the nation's ever-increasing demand.

The discussion will focus on water supply and resource management coordination, the role of the Bureau of Reclamation in the 21st Century; Indian and federal reserved water rights, conservation and technological developments, knowledge of water resources and drought.

Domenici said that two years ago, he identified water legislation as one of his top three priorities. Since then, both CalFed and the Gila River Indian water settlements have been signed into law.