Halt Peabody: Navajo and Hopi delegation to Denver

Contacts: Nikke Alex, (505) 879-7461 and Chelsea Chee, (928) 637-5592 (both on-site cell phones in Denver, CO)

Navajo & Hopi Tribal Leaders and Community Members Protest "Midnight Regulation" to Expand Peabody's Coal Mining Operation on Black Mesa, Arizona

Delegation Travels to Denver to meet with Office of Surface Mining, Hold Press Conference and Rally

WHEN: Monday Dec. 8th, 1 PM (MST)
WHERE: Sidewalk in front of The Office of Surface Mining - Downtown Denver
1999 Broadway, Denver, CO 80202

WHO: Speakers will include Hopi Chairman, Ben Nuvamsa; Hopi tribal member Maxine Wadsworth, Navajo tribal member Leonard Benally, Black Mesa Water Coalition Director Wahleah Johns

DENVER – It looks like another rushed "midnight regulation" from the Department of the Interior may be issued in favor of Peabody Coal, and the affected Navajo and Hopi people of Black Mesa are trying to stop it. A large delegation has traveled to Denver to meet with top officials in the Office of Surface Mining (OSM) and hold a press conference and rally in downtown Denver to protest the pending decision, which will grant the coal company a "life-of-mine" permit, expanded mining operations and rights to tap the fresh water of the Navajo aquifer.

Navajo and Hopi citizen's were given 45 days to comment on a revised "Black Mesa Project" Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and were never offered a public commenting period. Requests for commenting period extensions were denied by OSM as well as requests for OSM to come to Navajo and Hopi lands for question and answer meetings.

Arizona Congressman, and leading candidate for Secretary of Interior in the Obama Administration, Raúl M. Grijalva has asked current Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne to suspend further consideration of Peabody's permit. "At present, OSM is rushing to approve a life-of-mine permit, first without making the permit revisions sufficiently available for public review, and then without adequate environmental review."

"Mining at Black Mesa has caused springs on Hopi lands to dry up and jeopardized the sole source of drinking water for many Hopis and Navajos," stated Grijalva. "The Secretary, as the trustee for Native American tribes, must ensure that mining is done responsibly on tribal lands and that tribes actually want mining to occur. This project does not meet that test."

Former Navajo Chairman Peter MacDonald Sr. also recently came out against the expanded permit for Peabody, "The best thing that the Navajo Nation could do is to get rid of Peabody."

The Hopi Tribal Council is officially opposed to this project, however, the Council is currently in turmoil over the suspension of the Tribal Chairman. As a result, proper consultation with the Tribe, as required by federal law, cannot occur.

"The Interior Department and OSM are moving forward on this project to try to approve it before the end of the year," said Grijalva. "During a time of sacred religious ceremonies on Hopi, OSM is expecting the Hopi people to understand a complicated legal process to approve mining without a functioning tribal council to represent them. The Secretary needs to suspend this process until the tribal council is once again functional and spiritual ceremonies have concluded. Doing otherwise ignores the important obligations the federal government has toward tribes."

In addition, the power plant that previously used Black Mesa Mine coal shut down, and there is no other proposed use for the coal whose mining would be permitted by OSM. As a result, there is no actual proposed project involving Black Mesa Mine coal to be analyzed, making the pending decision not only premature, but in direct conflict with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act. According to former Hopi Tribal Chairman, Vernon Masayesva, "No customer means no project – you can't do an EIS unless you have a real project, yet OSM is going ahead with getting a life-of-mine permit."

Black Mesa Navajo and Hopi residents are concerned about how this project will impact the future of their homelands given the history of Peabody's unwise use of the Navajo Aquifer. "For decades coal and water from our lands have been taken to power Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Yet, we have have suffered the loss of our sole source drinking water to accomodate the over consumption of these areas," says Nikke Alex.

Black Mesa is the ancestral homelands to thousands of Navajo and Hopi families and is regarded as a sacred mountain to the Navajo people and plays an integral role in the cultural survival for the future generations of both the Navajo and Hopi people. Many Navajo and Hopi people stand firmly in opposition to this mine expansion plan and are organizing to voice their concerns.

Navajo & Hopi tribal members travel to Denver to meet with the Western Regional Office of Surface Mining as the agency prepares to permit Peabody Coal Company's Black Mesa Project
Panel Discussion & Press Conference Announcement

WHAT: Panel Discussion, Navajo and Hopi delegation to Denver
*free and open to the public*
WHEN: Sunday Dec. 7th, 1-3 PM (MST)
WHERE: Denver Indian Center, 4407 Morrison Road Denver, CO 80219

WHAT: PRESS CONFERENCE, Navajo & Hopi People Say No to Coal Mining
WHEN: Monday Dec. 8th, 1 PM (MST)
WHERE: Sidewalk in front of Office of Surface Mining - DOWNTOWN Denver - 1999 Broadway, Suite 3320 Denver, CO 80202
Background Information:
Concerned Navajo & Hopi people will rally in downtown Denver on Monday while a small delegation meets with Office of Surface Mining (OSM) personnel at their offices in Denver. OSM is expected to make a final decision – a "Record of Decision" - on Peabody's proposed Black Mesa Project. The controversial plan includes approval of a "Life-of-mine" permit, expanded mining operations, use of scarce water resources and an unclear buyer of the coal supply, potentially to the Navajo Generating Station in Page, AZ.
After a year of inactivity on the "Black Mesa Project" Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS), the process was restarted on May 2008. Navajo and Hopi citizen's were given 45 days to comment on a revised Draft EIS and were never offered a public commenting period. Requests for commenting period extensions were denied by OSM as well as requests for OSM to come to Navajo and Hopi lands for question and answer meetings.
The Final EIS states "if OSM approves the LOM revision for the Black Mesa Complex, the area previously associated with the Black Mesa operation (18,857 acres), including associated surface facilities, would be added to the 44,073 acres of the existing OSM permanent permit area for the Black Mesa Complex, bringing the total acres to 62,930, which would be considered as one operation for the purpose of regulation by OSM. This entire area is within Peabody's existing coal leases. The coal-mining leases with the Hopi Tribe and Navajo Nation provide Peabody the right to produce up to 290 million tons of coal from the Navajo Exclusive Lease Area and up to 380 million tons of coal from the Hopi and Navajo Joint Lease Area for a combined total of 670 million tons."
Black Mesa Navajo and Hopi residents are concerned about how this project will impact the future of their homelands given the history of Peabody's unwise use of the Navajo Aquifer to transport coal to MGS. Many community members from the Navajo Nation and the Hopi Tribe are extremely disappointed in the lack of public outreach the Office of Surface Mining office and Department of the Interior has carried out through the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) process.
Black Mesa is the ancestral homelands to thousands of Navajo and Hopi families and is regarded as a sacred mountain to the Navajo people and plays an integral role in the cultural survival for the future generations of both the Navajo and Hopi people. Many Navajo and Hopi people stand firm and oppose this mine expansion plan and are organizing to voice their concerns to the western regional office of the Office of Surface Mining in Denver, CO. on Dec. 8, 2008.