Arizona Republic
Mark Shaffer
Republic Flagstaff Bureau
Mar. 6, 2005

FLAGSTAFF - The major parties with an economic interest in Mohave Generating Station are "very near" striking an accord that they hope will keep the power plant open after the end of the year, Hopi Tribal Chairman Wayne Taylor said Friday.

A consent decree set next Jan. 1 as a deadline for the Laughlin, Nev., electric plant, fueled by Hopi and Navajo coal from Black Mesa mine, to install about $1 billion in equipment to clean up its air emissions, which often blanket in soot Bullhead City, just across the Colorado River.

No work has been done on the anti-pollution devices, and most observers think that it would take 1 1/2 years, minimum, to complete the work.

Environmental groups, which filed a 1997 federal lawsuit against Southern California Edison claiming that the generating station violated the Clean Air Act, say they are taking a wait-and-see attitude concerning any proposed settlement. Edison agreed in 1999 to install scrubbers on its smokestack to significantly reduce emissions by the end of 2005.

But the company also has requested, and has been authorized by the California Public Utilities Commission, to begin the process of shutting down the power plant.

"I wouldn't want to push back that date because I don't know if Edison is any closer to a solution than it's ever been," said Rob Smith, a representative of the Sierra Club in Phoenix. "They've been avoiding cleaning their emissions for nearly 30 years, and we've done our part to resolve the air issues."

Richard Mayol, a spokesman for Grand Canyon Trust in Flagstaff, said, "We're always open to hearing whatever has been put on the table" but "we're not aware of any new breakthroughs and we haven't been party to any of the discussions."

Taylor said the environmental groups would be contacted after a framework of an agreement was struck among the other parties because "that's what they told us last year they wanted us to do."

The generating station is responsible for an estimated 650 jobs for Arizona residents who either work at the plant and live in Bullhead City or mine the coal for the plant.

Southern California Edison is the primary owner of the generating station. Peabody Western Coal Co. mines the coal.

Taylor said that the Hopis, Navajos, Edison and Peabody are very near agreement on all points after "very intensive negotiations . . . . we hope to keep the plant operational without disruption, which would be very disastrous to us."

The mine's royalties account for 35 percent of the Hopi budget, Taylor said. About 15 percent of the Navajo budget also comes from the mine.

In a recent published report, Navajo President Joe Shirley Jr. said that if the "right things" happen during the next two or three months neither the generating station nor Black Mesa mine would close.

George Hardeen, a spokesman for Shirley, did not return calls.

According to a report filed last month with the California Public Utilities Commission, Southern California Edison officials said that negotiations were ongoing with Peabody for a coal supply to be used after 2005 but that the "substance of the negotiations remains confidential."

In addition to the environmental questions, the discussions are centered on finding an alternative water source for transporting the coal to Laughlin and how much the Navajos will be paid for the coal in the future, Taylor said.

"With the environmental controls on the plant, there will be an ability to burn more coal," Taylor said.

The coal is currently slurried by a 273-mile pipeline from the Black Mesa mine to Laughlin, and the water is pumped from the N aquifer, beneath the two reservations.

But that groundwater pumping has been criticized for years for rapidly drawing down subterranean water levels and causing the drying up of Hopi springs. It will cease by the end of this year along with the lease for the Black Mesa mine.

The U.S. Office of Surface Mining is reviewing environmental impacts for continued coal-mining operations at the Black Mesa mine and at the Kayenta mine, which provides coal for Navajo Generating Station near Page.

A proposal is being examined to build a water pipeline 120 miles across the Navajo and Hopi reservations from pumps located between Flagstaff and Winslow in the Coconino aquifer to the coal slurry preparation plant at Black Mesa.

Edison's report to the California commission noted that data on test wells drilled into that aquifer is expected to be available in May.

Reach the reporter at mark.shaffer@arizonarepublic.com or (602) 444-8057.