The Story Continues

The Story Continues http://powerpaths.semkhor.com/ The Story Continues en-us 10/25/2008 5/20/2026 Semkhor Networks support@semkhor.com support@semkhor.com Black Mesa project controversy rises http://powerpaths.semkhor.com/newswire.asp?content_id=13781&s=powerpaths BLACK MESA, Ariz. â€“ A push to approve a Peabody Western Coal Co. project in northern Arizona may be dividing the Hopi Tribal Council and fueling an attempted ouster of the tribal chairman. â€œThey have suspended my authority and one of the principal reasons is they want to ramrod the [Black Mesa project] EIS [environmental impact statement] through,â€ said Ben Nuvamsa, who asserted Oct. 17 that he plans to file a motion to quash an arrest warrant issued by a tribal judge over his contested chairmanship. â€œThey want to get it through before the presidential election and before a new administration takes office,â€ Nuvamsa said by telephone. <a href="http://www.indiancountrytoday.com/living/33096329.html">Read entire story...</a> 10/25/2008 First Wind Turbine Installed on Reservation http://powerpaths.semkhor.com/newswire.asp?content_id=12411&s=powerpaths <img alt="" src="/assets/images/site/powerpaths/kili%20install.jpg" align="" border="0" width="259">     By Ryan Woodard, Journal staff PORCUPINE - The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation's first large-scale wind turbine was installed near KILI Radio this week, and Pat Spears hopes it is not the last.  Spears, president of the Intertribal Council on Utility Policy, said the turbine is only one of many he hopes will be built on the Pine Ridge and other reservations. "We hope it's going to be a model for other community wind projects, for other community tribal facilities," he said. Spears said residents seem enthused about the possibility of reining in the area's gusty winds for energy use. "People really understand the environmental benefits of wind, and they want clean energy," Spears said. "They want a way to harness the power that's here, blowing by every day." The turbine, capable of generating as much as 65 kilowatt hours of electricity, was completed Wednesday afternoon on a small hill near the well-known tribal radio station. Crews from the Intertribal Council and Matney-Frantz Engineering, out of Bozeman, Mont., used a crane to place a Nordtank turbine and three blades atop a 300-foot tower as a large group of onlookers watched intently. Many of those onlookers were tribal members looking to work in the wind industry, as was the case with Sinte Gleska University building-trade student Elmer Blue Thunder.   "I'm interested in the whole process," Blue Thunder said as he watched from  the deck of the radio station. Blue Thunder said he had discussed job possibilities with Matney-Frantz. He hopes to join the Montana crews after graduation and then come back to Pine Ridge if and when the use of wind power becomes more prevalent there. Spears said the council, an organization out of Fort Pierre that works on energy issues with a number of reservations, is hoping to arrange the construction of enough turbines within the next two years to provide a total of 400 kilowatt hours of power on eight reservations. The turbine structure at KILI, built at a cost of $150,000, was funded by the Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development, the "Honor the Earth"charity organization, NativeEnergy and other sources. The project began in 2002, when an anemometer was placed near KILI to measure the wind potential. The device determined the best placement for the turbine. According to information provided by the KILI station, the turbine is expected to provide about 92,000 kilowatt hours of power each year, which KILI officials hope will save the station about $12,000 per year in electricity bills. Any power that is not used by the station will be sold back to local electrical provider LaCreek Electric and eventually be used by residents. KILI station manager Melanie Janis said Thursday she is happy to see the six-year project come to fruition. "I keep going out there and looking at it, thinking, 'Oh my gosh, it's actually here,'" she said. Contact Ryan Woodard at 394-8412 or <a href="mailto:ryan.woodard@rapidcityjournal.com">ryan.woodard@rapidcityjournal.com</a> 6/29/2008 Stop New Black Mesa Mining http://powerpaths.semkhor.com/newswire.asp?content_id=12376&s=powerpaths Dear friends and relatives, Please take a few minutes to read and hopefully respond!  We have being trying our best to handle the railroading tactics of Peabody, the Office of Surface Mining and its desire mine more coal! Best, BMWC <a target="_blank" href="http://www.blackmesawatercoalition.org">www.blackmesawatercoalition.org</a> Black Mesa Project permitting process Re-opened! Deadline for commenting: July 7, 2008 Coal is the liver of Mother Earth, keep it in the ground, keep her alive and healthy! In 30 years the Black Mesa mine has contributed an estimated 325 million tons of CO2 to the atmosphere! If Peabody's Black Mesa Project is permitted, coal from the Black Mesa mine could potentially contribute an additional 290 million tons of CO2 to the global warming crisis! Save Nihima Dzil Yijiin! Protect Our Mother Black Mesa! The Office of Surface Mining (OSM) has recently re-activated the Black Mesa Project (BMP) Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) in May 2008. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.wrcc.osmre.gov/WR/BlackMesaEIS.htm">http://www.wrcc.osmre.gov/WR/BlackMesaEIS.htm</a> After being shelved for one year, the preferred alternative for the draft EIS has changed to Alternative B. In 2006, OSM released the DEIS for the BMP supporting preferred Alternative A. Which meant the expansion of the mine, the building of a coal-washing facility, the use Coconino Aquifer and Navajo Aquifer, and re-building of the 273-mile coal slurry-line to transport coal to the Mohave Generating Station. Since January of 2006 MGS, Black Mesa mine and slurry-line has closed due to the unavailability of coal transportation means, fresh ground water (Navajo and Coconino Aquifer). Today Alternative B has re-opened the DEIS. Alternative B is to supply Black Mesa coal to the Navajo Generating Station located near Page, AZ. Alternative B will combine the Black Mesa mine and Kayenta mine into one life- of-mine permit (LOM), thus giving Peabody Coal Company the right to mine in their coal lease boundary until there is no coal left. Currently the Kayenta mine is the only operating mine on Black Mesa and has been operating on a LOM permit for over 30 years. Alternative B would expand and re-open the Black Mesa Mine joining the Kayenta mine. It is still unclear what exactly Alternative B is, community people of Black Mesa are outrage for the lack of notification and sudden change in the DEIS. Residents of Black Mesa have been opposing the BMP draft EIS since its release. In particular, the majority of public comments submitted to OSM last year are comments regarding Alternative A. OSM has given 45 days for the general public to respond on Alternative B, this is an insufficient time for elders, youth and Navajo and Hopi speaking people to make comments. The deadline for public comments is July 7, 2008. Take Action Now! Please help by doing one or all of the below: 1. Simply download the below letter, sign it and mail it in! (OSM contact information below) 2. Download the sample letter, change or add MORE to it that addresses your concerns for climate change, global warming, air quality, alternative energies, or other future environmental quality issues.  Don't forget to sign it and mail it in! 3. Type out or hand write your own letter using the suggested talking points, sign and mail it in! 4. Host a letter writing party! Invite friends and family over to write their own letters using the suggested talking points and sample letter.  Provide paper, pens, envelopes and stamps. We encourage you to hand write your own letter, we have talking points and a sample letter below that can be helpful. Please write or email to both the Navajo OSM and the regional OSM (contact info below) request a suspension and complete halt of this EIS process! Or, in the alternative, an indefinite extension of the commenting period on the Black Mesa Project Draft Environmental Impact Statement! A few suggested talking points and concerns with the DEIS: No official U.S. and Navajo government entity has outreached or shared information to local Black Mesa residents adequately regarding Alternative B, The BMP draft EIS is outdated and has irrelevant information. If they want to pursue Alternative B, they need to restart a new EIS process from the beginning, Many of the public comments submitted last year for the BMP draft EIS were intended for Alternative A, which is an inactive issue now, The DEIS mentions lung problems and only proposes mitigation for mine workers, not residents. DEIS must look at mitigation measures for local residents to avoid health problems associated with black lung, silicacosis and other lung ailments like asthma, The DEIS does not consider how OSM will comply with RFRA (Religious Freedom and Restoration Act) and prevent substantial burden on the tribes' ability to practice their religion, The DEIS does not compare the economics of additional coal mining vs. a Just Transition to renewable energy development on the mine site and reclaimed areas to prevent long-term cumulative impacts by additional coal mining, The DEIS does not address the pumping of the Navajo Aquifer for the last thirty years.  These amounts exceed the aquifer's ability to replace water annually, and have adversely impacted the natural springs and seeps all over Black Mesa. Springs and seeps no longer can produce the water needed for Navajo families to survive daily. Instead families must abandon local water resources and use community wells 20-30 miles over unimproved roads. The mining operation's irresponsible use of groundwater has jeopardized the people's survival into the future. Peabody has not included in its application the impact on the people of Black Mesa and how long they can expect to survive with continued use and contamination of the only source of drinking water the people have. What measures do they have in place to insure the people that an alternate source of water in quality and quantity will be delivered if there is irreversible damage to the N-Aquifer? DEIS is vague and does not give the reader a clear understanding of the social, cultural and economic impacts of the potential relocation of 17 families! The DEIS does not address the current U.S. federal laws that make CO2 a pollutant and uncalculated CO2 emissions that will contribute to global warming until 2026, if more mining by Peabody coal company continues. 6/26/2008 Indigenous Peoples from North America Say No to Fossil Fuel Development http://powerpaths.semkhor.com/newswire.asp?content_id=11696&s=powerpaths <div style="text-align: right;"><div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial;">Contact:  Elouise Brown, Dooda Desert Rock, 505-947-6159                         Jihan Gearon, Indigenous Environmental Network, 218-760-1370                         Enei Begay, Black Mesa Water Coaltion, 928-380-6296 </div><div startcont="this" style="text-align: center; font-family: Arial;">Indigenous Peoples from North America Say No to Fossil Fuel Development Dooda Desert Rock (David) Knocks on Sithe Global's (Goliath's) Door </div><div style="text-align: left;">New York City, NY - A delegation of Indigenous Peoples from all over the world rallied at Sithe Global LLC in New York City, to ensure that Sithe understands the impacts of their proposed Desert Rock Energy Project on the local, Navajo people at the proposed site. Elouise Brown, President of the Dooda Desert Rock committee, and Enei Begaye, Executive Director of the Black Mesa Water Coalition, attempted to deliver a letter to Sithe telling them that local people do not support the project. Sithe did not meet with them.   News reporters accompanied Elouise and Enei into the building, but were ordered to â€œleave immediately.â€ Enei and Elouise, as tribal members of the Navajo Nation who Sithe Global is doing business with, asked to deliver a letter to Sithe Global. Receptionists called the Sithe Global office several times and left two messages, but Sithe never came down or called back. The receptionists refused to deliver the letter but directed Elouise and Enei to a messenger center at a different location, where they sent the letter.   â€œI don't understand how the proponents of the Desert Rock Energy Project from our Navajo Nation can do business with a corporation that will not speak to members of the Nation who would be directly impacted by the project,â€ says Elouise Brown. â€œAt least we know we delivered the letter, and they have an idea there are many Navajo people opposed to this project, and only a couple who want the project.â€   Outside Indigenous Peoples from all over the world who are in New York for the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UN PFII), rallied, chanted, and held signs in solidarity with the Dooda Desert Rock Committee. Suspiciously, soon after the rally started, large moving trucks were parked in front of the building, blocking protestors from being seen on the street. Elouise and Enei were part of the Indigenous Environmental Network delegation to the UN PFII. Together, the group profiled the disproportionate impacts their communities face as a result of the expansion of fossil fuel development in their homelands, resulting in contamination and depletion of water, compounding climate change, and exacerbating health impacts.    Says Enei Begaye, â€œThese are resource wars. These companies are occupying sovereign Indigenous territories, and not just in Iraq. In this country, from the Navajo Nation to the Arctic, the Indian wars continue.â€   The letter can be found at <a href="http://www.dooda-desert-rock.net/" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline; font-family: Arial;" target="_blank">http://www.dooda-desert-rock.net</a> <<a href="http://www.dooda-desert-rock.net/" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline; font-family: Arial;" target="_blank">http://www.dooda-desert-rock.net/</a>> . </div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" src="../assets/images/site/powerpaths/p4250017.jpg" align="" border="0" height="240" width="250"> </div></div></div> 4/25/2008