Post by Marks - the Earth's Sun on Jul 23, 2005 0:33:11 GMT -5
Four Corners residents unite against power plant
By Ryan Hall, The Daily Times
Jun 19, 2005, 10:20 pm
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Deidra Goldtooth, of Chinle, Ariz., makes a poster protesting the construction of the Desert Rock Power Plant. “Dooda” is the Navajo word for “no.” Dave Watson/The Daily Times
SHIPROCK — “Desert Rock Power Plant? Dooda!”
That was the message that was delivered loud and clear Saturday morning to the Shiprock community in the form of an anti-power plant rally.
The red and black sign conveying the message, with “dooda” being the Navajo word for “no,” was posted at the entrance to the rally, which drew more than 100 people.
The rally was set up by Diné Citizens Against Ruining our Environment (CARE), the Dooda Desert Rock Power Plant Committee and the San Juan Citizens’ Alliance of Aztec and Durango, Colo., to protest the proposed $2 billion, 1,500 megawatt coal-burning power plant that would be built in the Nenahnezad chapter, near the San Juan Generating Station and the Four Corners Power Plant.
“That’s what the rally is for — it applies to everyone,” said Sarah White, of Diné CARE.
Visitors could get information and sign a petition against the power plant, asking for all development of the site to stop.
“We really, really just have to make a stand. We have to protect our future,” she said.
Anna Frazier, of Diné CARE, added that the rally was held to help residents realize that the building of the plant will directly affect them.
“They just kind of go along, thinking, ‘It’s not our problem.’ It’s everybody’s problem,” she said.
Officials from plant developer Sithe Global, Houston, and the Diné Power Authority (DPA) have previously said the plant would bring jobs and money to the Navajo Nation while having a minimal environmental impact.
While emissions at the other two plants have been reduced significantly over the last decade, Dirk Straussfeld, vice president for Sithe, said the Desert Rock plant would add about 10 percent of that reduced amount of emissions back into the environment.
Dan Randolph, of the San Juan Citizens’ Alliance, and Frazier said the point of getting the two existing plants to reduce emissions was to ensure cleaner air for the Four Corners. They said that putting any amount of that reduction back into the air through a new plant would negate earlier efforts.
“It is a step (backward). It’s going to take us back to the past,” Frazier said.
Randolph agreed, saying he would continue to be skeptical of the 10 percent emission estimate until solid numbers backing up that claim are released.
“I don’t necessarily take them on face value. It’s all just words at this point,” he said.
Frazier added she doubts all the economic benefits of jobs and revenue to the Nation as promised by the power plant’s developers will come to fruition.
She said there are more than 200,000 Navajo citizens on the reservation. According to previously released estimates by the DPA and Sithe Global, 200 jobs would be created if the Desert Rock Energy Plant is built.
Frazier said even if every job went to a Navajo worker, less than 1 percent of the Nation would be employed by the new venture, yet thousands could suffer from the added pollution.
“Is that worth our lives? The lives of the Navajo people?” she asked.
Dr. Marcus Higi, family practitioner and emergency medical doctor in Cortez, said he has already seen the effects of pollution on the health of people in the Four Corners region.
“I’m here because I’m concerned about the impact on your health, our health. I assume everyone here has to breathe air,” he told the crowd.
Higi said he has personally seen more cases of asthma and respiratory problems since moving to Cortez then he ever saw while practicing on the East Coast. He said an additional power plant could potentially worsen the severity of the cases he sees.
“I’m very concerned about the health impact. We already have issues with air quality and that 10 percent (emission increase) could be the straw that breaks the camel’s back,” he said.
Randolph added that the emissions issue could be avoided because there are other opportunities on the reservation to produce power and create jobs, without adding additional health risks.
“We strongly believe the Navajo Nation can better meet its needs on the reservation through dispersed renewable energy,” he said.
Che Glawnii, 29, of Shiprock, the owner of an independent music label, agreed.
“There’s a lot of opportunity to create electricity in other ways,” he said, suggesting wind and solar power as examples.
Glawnii said the key was to change the attitude of the Navajo people so educated youth stay on the reservation and become entrepreneurs rather than leaving after school. He said such a change would help create jobs for Diné people rather than forcing them to rely on government agencies for employment opportunities.
“People don’t see themselves as being on the reservation in 10 years. They don’t see any opportunities here,” he said.
Glawnii suggested a Navajo water bottling company using the Navajo aquifer as a source, a trucking company to transport the bottled water, community-run ranches and a wind-power company as alternative employers that would not negatively impact the environment.
He said the DPA and Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), are not acting in the Navajo people’s best interests by pursuing deals with power plants.
“What I say about the BIA and the power plant go hand in hand. We are not sovereign, we are in a state of emergency,” Glawnii said.
He added he doesn’t believe DPA or Sithe officials when they promise jobs and revenue for the Nation.
“The people who say that are liars,” Glawnii said, adding that companies shouldn’t promise help to Navajo people when that “help” includes potential health hazards.
In addition to listening to environmental activists, community members and elders speak, rally participants were treated to food and music.
Throughout the event, children and teenagers painted anti-power plant posters and placed them around the rally. Others carried the posters along the highway and through a local flea market to get the message across.
Both White and Glawnii praised the younger generation for being involved.
“They’re aware of the danger of pollution in San Juan County,” White said, pointing out some of the posters.
Glawnii said he was impressed with the number of teenagers and children who turned out and encouraged them to stay active.
“It’s pretty important because a lot of times, we don’t say anything. We’re too used to failure, too used to broken hope,” he said.
The power plant, if built, would begin construction by the end of 2006 and be completed and online by 2010, according to Sithe Global.
Ownership would be divided between Sithe, the Navajo Nation and customers, with customers owning half. Sithe Global and the Navajo Nation would split the other half, with Sithe owning more than the nation, according to a previous statement by Straussfeld.
Additionally, if the plant is constructed, the power produced at the plant likely wouldn’t be available on the reservation as it is to be sold to Phoenix, Las Vegas and other locations throughout the Southwest.
The Navajo Tribal Utility Authority (NTUA), which supplies power to the reservation, buys its electricity from Tucson Electric Power. They have previously said they will continue to buy power from the cheapest source.
The NTUA will not have a stake in the Desert Rock Energy Plant and is separate from the DPA.
By Ryan Hall, The Daily Times
Jun 19, 2005, 10:20 pm
Email this article
Printer friendly page
Deidra Goldtooth, of Chinle, Ariz., makes a poster protesting the construction of the Desert Rock Power Plant. “Dooda” is the Navajo word for “no.” Dave Watson/The Daily Times
SHIPROCK — “Desert Rock Power Plant? Dooda!”
That was the message that was delivered loud and clear Saturday morning to the Shiprock community in the form of an anti-power plant rally.
The red and black sign conveying the message, with “dooda” being the Navajo word for “no,” was posted at the entrance to the rally, which drew more than 100 people.
The rally was set up by Diné Citizens Against Ruining our Environment (CARE), the Dooda Desert Rock Power Plant Committee and the San Juan Citizens’ Alliance of Aztec and Durango, Colo., to protest the proposed $2 billion, 1,500 megawatt coal-burning power plant that would be built in the Nenahnezad chapter, near the San Juan Generating Station and the Four Corners Power Plant.
“That’s what the rally is for — it applies to everyone,” said Sarah White, of Diné CARE.
Visitors could get information and sign a petition against the power plant, asking for all development of the site to stop.
“We really, really just have to make a stand. We have to protect our future,” she said.
Anna Frazier, of Diné CARE, added that the rally was held to help residents realize that the building of the plant will directly affect them.
“They just kind of go along, thinking, ‘It’s not our problem.’ It’s everybody’s problem,” she said.
Officials from plant developer Sithe Global, Houston, and the Diné Power Authority (DPA) have previously said the plant would bring jobs and money to the Navajo Nation while having a minimal environmental impact.
While emissions at the other two plants have been reduced significantly over the last decade, Dirk Straussfeld, vice president for Sithe, said the Desert Rock plant would add about 10 percent of that reduced amount of emissions back into the environment.
Dan Randolph, of the San Juan Citizens’ Alliance, and Frazier said the point of getting the two existing plants to reduce emissions was to ensure cleaner air for the Four Corners. They said that putting any amount of that reduction back into the air through a new plant would negate earlier efforts.
“It is a step (backward). It’s going to take us back to the past,” Frazier said.
Randolph agreed, saying he would continue to be skeptical of the 10 percent emission estimate until solid numbers backing up that claim are released.
“I don’t necessarily take them on face value. It’s all just words at this point,” he said.
Frazier added she doubts all the economic benefits of jobs and revenue to the Nation as promised by the power plant’s developers will come to fruition.
She said there are more than 200,000 Navajo citizens on the reservation. According to previously released estimates by the DPA and Sithe Global, 200 jobs would be created if the Desert Rock Energy Plant is built.
Frazier said even if every job went to a Navajo worker, less than 1 percent of the Nation would be employed by the new venture, yet thousands could suffer from the added pollution.
“Is that worth our lives? The lives of the Navajo people?” she asked.
Dr. Marcus Higi, family practitioner and emergency medical doctor in Cortez, said he has already seen the effects of pollution on the health of people in the Four Corners region.
“I’m here because I’m concerned about the impact on your health, our health. I assume everyone here has to breathe air,” he told the crowd.
Higi said he has personally seen more cases of asthma and respiratory problems since moving to Cortez then he ever saw while practicing on the East Coast. He said an additional power plant could potentially worsen the severity of the cases he sees.
“I’m very concerned about the health impact. We already have issues with air quality and that 10 percent (emission increase) could be the straw that breaks the camel’s back,” he said.
Randolph added that the emissions issue could be avoided because there are other opportunities on the reservation to produce power and create jobs, without adding additional health risks.
“We strongly believe the Navajo Nation can better meet its needs on the reservation through dispersed renewable energy,” he said.
Che Glawnii, 29, of Shiprock, the owner of an independent music label, agreed.
“There’s a lot of opportunity to create electricity in other ways,” he said, suggesting wind and solar power as examples.
Glawnii said the key was to change the attitude of the Navajo people so educated youth stay on the reservation and become entrepreneurs rather than leaving after school. He said such a change would help create jobs for Diné people rather than forcing them to rely on government agencies for employment opportunities.
“People don’t see themselves as being on the reservation in 10 years. They don’t see any opportunities here,” he said.
Glawnii suggested a Navajo water bottling company using the Navajo aquifer as a source, a trucking company to transport the bottled water, community-run ranches and a wind-power company as alternative employers that would not negatively impact the environment.
He said the DPA and Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), are not acting in the Navajo people’s best interests by pursuing deals with power plants.
“What I say about the BIA and the power plant go hand in hand. We are not sovereign, we are in a state of emergency,” Glawnii said.
He added he doesn’t believe DPA or Sithe officials when they promise jobs and revenue for the Nation.
“The people who say that are liars,” Glawnii said, adding that companies shouldn’t promise help to Navajo people when that “help” includes potential health hazards.
In addition to listening to environmental activists, community members and elders speak, rally participants were treated to food and music.
Throughout the event, children and teenagers painted anti-power plant posters and placed them around the rally. Others carried the posters along the highway and through a local flea market to get the message across.
Both White and Glawnii praised the younger generation for being involved.
“They’re aware of the danger of pollution in San Juan County,” White said, pointing out some of the posters.
Glawnii said he was impressed with the number of teenagers and children who turned out and encouraged them to stay active.
“It’s pretty important because a lot of times, we don’t say anything. We’re too used to failure, too used to broken hope,” he said.
The power plant, if built, would begin construction by the end of 2006 and be completed and online by 2010, according to Sithe Global.
Ownership would be divided between Sithe, the Navajo Nation and customers, with customers owning half. Sithe Global and the Navajo Nation would split the other half, with Sithe owning more than the nation, according to a previous statement by Straussfeld.
Additionally, if the plant is constructed, the power produced at the plant likely wouldn’t be available on the reservation as it is to be sold to Phoenix, Las Vegas and other locations throughout the Southwest.
The Navajo Tribal Utility Authority (NTUA), which supplies power to the reservation, buys its electricity from Tucson Electric Power. They have previously said they will continue to buy power from the cheapest source.
The NTUA will not have a stake in the Desert Rock Energy Plant and is separate from the DPA.