An Economy For the Future<br>

By Lillian Hill

Black Mesa Water Coalition

(EDITOR’S NOTE: This opinion was prepared by members of four individuals belonging to four separate environmental groups, all sharing a strong commitment to protecting the water of this region. Nicole Horseherder, Tó Nizhóní Ání, Roberto Nutlouis, Indigenous Youth Council of Piñon and Andy Bessler, Sierra Club, are co-authors.)

Navajo and Hopi Elders have told us “Water is Life.” To the Navajo, it is To’iina at’e. To the Hopi, it is Paatuwaquatsi. But to Peabody Energy, water is merely a means to a lucrative end, pennies paid to the tribes on the billions of dollars they’ve made from Black Mesa coalmines. For decades Peabody has pumped away the real wealth of the tribes, the water of the N-aquifer. If Navajo and Hopi people living on and around Black Mesa are to continue using this pristine source of life, Peabody must stop pumping. In its recent resolution, the Navajo Tribal Council agreed that Peabody pumping must end by 2005.

What are our alternatives? The Bush administration’s answer to this complex problem is to use a different water source, the Coconino (C) Aquifer.

Peabody would pump groundwater from the Winslow area; pump it up to Black Mesa, and then to Nevada. The C-Aquifer, while not as pure as the N-Aquifer (few are), is still precious as a source of water. We are concerned that using the C-aquifer to an increased amount of 6000 acre-feet per year may impact springs on the White Mountain Apache Nation and other communities who rely on its groundwater. Peabody is merely shifting the trouble from one community to another.

In its comments several months ago to the California Public Utilities Commission on its potential decision to close Mohave Generating Station, Black Mesa Trust and Tó Nizhóní Ání representatives recommended several potential solutions including using reclaimed water from regional towns and shifting Mohave to a dry cooling system which would use only 120 acre feet of water a year. These alternatives would at least ensure that no new community is impacted by Peabody’s water use.

We can’t forget, though, that the actual pipeline is leaking all over the Arizona landscape. Last year, the EPA and ADEQ levied fines against the Black Mesa Pipeline Company for spilling millions of gallons of coal slurry and polluting Arizona streams. The 273-mile pipeline, engineered for a life of 30 years, is over 35 years old and is breaking down. Simply providing a new water source is only a Band-Aid solution.

We know that the mine is important to the economic life of the Hopi and Navajo tribes, but how sustainable is the fossil fuel economy? The mines have scarred Black Mesa, springs are drying up, and Mojave’s future is uncertain. The Hopi tribe estimates “sufficient tonnages to extend the life of the mine through at least 2025 and perhaps out to 2030.” But what then? 2030 is not even a generation away. Where will tribal revenue come from then?

The Hopi and Navajo people now have an opportunity to move away from the boom and bust economy of coal. Tribal leaders can set an example for the country by looking to wind and solar for energy and income. We propose a ten-year transitional economy taking us from fossil fuels to renewable energy. The wind and the sun won’t run out in 2030. We can do better than coal.

A sustainable economy based on Navajo and Hopi cultural values can help preserve water for agriculture. With solid water conservation ethics, the N-Aquifer can provide life for generations yet to come. Water is Life and we must protect that source of life while searching for a sustainable economy for the future generations.

But it’s not enough to discuss these solutions in writing. Tribal leaders need to hold public hearings in Hopi and Navajo communities and listen to the people’s perspective on Peabody, Mohave and their economic future.

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