Mohave Facility Won't Be ReopenedEdison says it can't find a profitable way to operate the heavily polluting power plant

Mohave Facility Won't Be ReopenedEdison says it can't find a profitable way to operate the heavily polluting power plant.By Marc Lifsher, Times Staff WriterJune 20, 2006
After months of negotiations with two Indian tribes and the world's largest coal company, Southern California Edison Co. said Monday that it couldn't find a profitable way to reopen its heavily polluting Mohave power plant on the California-Nevada border.
Edison mothballed the giant coal-fueled generating station Jan. 1, a deadline imposed by a settlement in an environmental lawsuit that required the installation of about $1 billion of pollution-control equipment.
ADVERTISEMENTSince then, the Rosemead-based utility and its minority partners, including the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, have been working to cut deals that would reopen the plant — even as recently as Friday. Edison needed to secure coal to operate the facility and water to push pulverized coal through a 270-mile pipeline from a mine in northeastern Arizona to the plant's Laughlin, Nev., location.
"It's simply not feasible to move forward at this time," Edison Senior Vice President Richard Rosenblum said.
Edison, a subsidiary of Edison International, told more than 200 workers at the power plant Monday that they would be laid off.
Edison abandoned plans to revive the Mohave plant for a combination of reasons, including the possibility that California would begin capping emissions of greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming, Rosenblum said. Another factor was the 2026 expiration of contracts with Nevada for Colorado River water to cool Mohave's turbines, he said.
Edison's 56% share of Mohave's 1,580 megawatts provided low-cost electricity to about 7% of the utility's 13 million customers. However, the company said Mohave's loss shouldn't threaten Southland electricity supplies because Edison recently began operating a new natural-gas-fired power plant in Redlands.
Edison hasn't decided whether to decommission or sell the Mohave plant, Rosenblum said.
Edison's announcement that it wouldn't push to reopen Mohave "caught us by surprise … and is not good news for the Navajo Nation," tribal spokesman George Hardeen said. The California utility had given no indication of its change of stance during negotiations with the tribes Friday, Hardeen said.
The co-owners of the coal, the 250,000-member Navajo Nation and the 7,000-member Hopi tribe, are expected to lose hundreds of high-paying mining jobs and about $40 million in annual royalty payments and other revenue from the mine's operator, Peabody Energy Corp.
But environmentalists said they weren't surprised that Edison gave up efforts to retrofit a plant that was one of the West's dirtiest. Mohave spewed an average of 2,000 tons of soot a year in 2002 and 2003, obscuring views of the Grand Canyon, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Mohave also annually released an average of 19,000 tons of nitrogen oxides and 40,000 tons of sulfur dioxides during the same period, the agency said.
"We were doubtful that Edison would be able to keep the plant open," said Roger Clark of the Grand Canyon Trust in Flagstaff, Ariz., which sued Mohave under the federal Clean Air Act in 1999, along with the Sierra Club and the National Parks Conservation Assn.
Clark said he hoped that Edison and other utilities would invest in wind and solar power projects to provide California ratepayers with clean energy and compensate the Navajo and Hopi tribes for lost jobs and tax revenue.
Shuttering Mohave is a step toward meeting Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 25% from forecasted levels by 2020, said Bernadette Del Chiaro, a statehouse lobbyist for Environment California, a group backing a bill that would set caps on carbon dioxide pollution.
"When you find yourself in a hole, the first thing you should do is stop digging," she said.
According to a survey released by Environment California on Monday, carbon dioxide emissions in the United States nearly doubled between 1960 and 2001, with volume increasing dramatically in the 1990s.
California's efforts to regulate greenhouse gas emissions should make Mohave unattractive to potential buyers, said Rob Smith of the Sierra Club.
"The new owners would have the same problems as the current owners," Smith said. "Edison has had a hard time saying that Mohave is a bad idea, but everyone else says that we have to move on."
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-edison20jun20,1,2684650.story?coll=la-headlines-business&ctrack=1&cset=true
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Mohave Facility Won't Be ReopenedEdison says it can't find a profitable way to operate the heavily polluting power plant

Mohave Facility Won't Be ReopenedEdison says it can't find a profitable way to operate the heavily polluting power plant.By Marc Lifsher, Times Staff WriterJune 20, 2006

After months of negotiations with two Indian tribes and the world's largest coal company, Southern California Edison Co. said Monday that it couldn't find a profitable way to reopen its heavily polluting Mohave power plant on the California-Nevada border.
Edison mothballed the giant coal-fueled generating station Jan. 1, a deadline imposed by a settlement in an environmental lawsuit that required the installation of about $1 billion of pollution-control equipment.
ADVERTISEMENTSince then, the Rosemead-based utility and its minority partners, including the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, have been working to cut deals that would reopen the plant — even as recently as Friday. Edison needed to secure coal to operate the facility and water to push pulverized coal through a 270-mile pipeline from a mine in northeastern Arizona to the plant's Laughlin, Nev., location.
"It's simply not feasible to move forward at this time," Edison Senior Vice President Richard Rosenblum said.
Edison, a subsidiary of Edison International, told more than 200 workers at the power plant Monday that they would be laid off.
Edison abandoned plans to revive the Mohave plant for a combination of reasons, including the possibility that California would begin capping emissions of greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming, Rosenblum said. Another factor was the 2026 expiration of contracts with Nevada for Colorado River water to cool Mohave's turbines, he said.
Edison's 56% share of Mohave's 1,580 megawatts provided low-cost electricity to about 7% of the utility's 13 million customers. However, the company said Mohave's loss shouldn't threaten Southland electricity supplies because Edison recently began operating a new natural-gas-fired power plant in Redlands.
Edison hasn't decided whether to decommission or sell the Mohave plant, Rosenblum said.
Edison's announcement that it wouldn't push to reopen Mohave "caught us by surprise … and is not good news for the Navajo Nation," tribal spokesman George Hardeen said. The California utility had given no indication of its change of stance during negotiations with the tribes Friday, Hardeen said.
The co-owners of the coal, the 250,000-member Navajo Nation and the 7,000-member Hopi tribe, are expected to lose hundreds of high-paying mining jobs and about $40 million in annual royalty payments and other revenue from the mine's operator, Peabody Energy Corp.
But environmentalists said they weren't surprised that Edison gave up efforts to retrofit a plant that was one of the West's dirtiest. Mohave spewed an average of 2,000 tons of soot a year in 2002 and 2003, obscuring views of the Grand Canyon, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Mohave also annually released an average of 19,000 tons of nitrogen oxides and 40,000 tons of sulfur dioxides during the same period, the agency said.
"We were doubtful that Edison would be able to keep the plant open," said Roger Clark of the Grand Canyon Trust in Flagstaff, Ariz., which sued Mohave under the federal Clean Air Act in 1999, along with the Sierra Club and the National Parks Conservation Assn.
Clark said he hoped that Edison and other utilities would invest in wind and solar power projects to provide California ratepayers with clean energy and compensate the Navajo and Hopi tribes for lost jobs and tax revenue.
Shuttering Mohave is a step toward meeting Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 25% from forecasted levels by 2020, said Bernadette Del Chiaro, a statehouse lobbyist for Environment California, a group backing a bill that would set caps on carbon dioxide pollution.
"When you find yourself in a hole, the first thing you should do is stop digging," she said.
According to a survey released by Environment California on Monday, carbon dioxide emissions in the United States nearly doubled between 1960 and 2001, with volume increasing dramatically in the 1990s.
California's efforts to regulate greenhouse gas emissions should make Mohave unattractive to potential buyers, said Rob Smith of the Sierra Club.
"The new owners would have the same problems as the current owners," Smith said. "Edison has had a hard time saying that Mohave is a bad idea, but everyone else says that we have to move on."
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-edison20jun20,1,2684650.story?coll=la-headlines-business&ctrack=1&cset=true
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Police plan raises ire on panel

Police plan raises ire on panel
By John Christian HopkinsDine Bureau
WINDOW ROCK — The issue is a political hot potato, one that critics claim is half-baked and causes others to boil. No potato has fried the nerves of a politician this much since the infamous Dan Quayle spud. It's the controversial restructuring plan for the Navajo Nation's police force, a move proposed by Navajo Nation Chief of Police Jim Benally and Public Safety Division Director Samson Cowboy. The legislation if passed by the full Navajo Nation Council would eliminate the position of captain within the Nation's police force. The current officers with a captain's rank will have a simple decision to make: Accept the lesser rank of lieutenant or find another job. It's that lack of redress that concerns Delegate Hope MacDonald-Lonetree, chairwoman of the Public Safety Committee, that passed the measure by a 3-2 vote. The deciding vote was cast by the bill's sponsor, Delegate Lorenzo Curley. Such blanket demotions seldom have much appeal for those who must hash out a deal under the sharp scrutiny of the public. This issue, in particular, seems to have mashed personalities and politics all during an election year. Delegate Harry H. Clark honestly hoped the issue would remain off the table until after the election. Too many people will use it to score political points, he feared. The controversial restructuring plan had been on tabled status for the past three or four PSC meetings. The PSC had sought reports on the plan from the Office of Budget and Management and the Department of Justice. An even as the PSC recalled the issue this week, there was an uneasy pause before a motion was made to recall the legislation. There was that same awkward, uneasiness later in the week when the legislation found its way onto the Government Services Committee's agenda. Curley did not appear at Government Services a threat he had hinted at to induce some action by the PSC. "He's here, I saw him outside," said Ervin Keeswood, the chairman of Government Services. "I guess we move on then. I don't see any great objections." There were several sighs of relief inside the North Conference Room. With Public Safety taking action on the legislation, it may not have needed any action by Government Services. The DOJ report to the PSC caused a sharp exchange between MacDonald-Lonetree and Curley, who had suggested that if PSC didn't act he'd take the bill himself to Government Services. MacDonald-Lonetree grilled Curley on what he intended to do if the PSC voted against or deleted his legislation. Curley noted that DOJ attorney Frank Seanez issued an opinion that he could bring the legislation to the Government Services Committee regardless of what the PSC decided. "So you'd be in favor of setting a precedence and overriding the Public Safety Committee's opinion?" snapped MacDonald-Lonetree. "Seanez says in this area Government Services has authority," Curley said. "The law is written that way." Delegate Harry Brown, of the PSC, readily agreed that maybe opinions should be given by the other standing committees. "Why did this come up? There must be something wrong, somewhere," Brown said. As the Government Services Committee meeting neared its close, Delegate Leonard Teller ventured a routine question, "Is it a dead issue now?" Keeswood admitted that he didn't know. It sounds as if a lot of internal conflicts have become embroiled in politics, Teller said. "I don't like that," Teller offered. "I wish it hadn't been on the table. I've gotten phone calls from some other delegates, they don't want this to come up." "It doesn't matter how we feel personally," Keeswood said. "We must consider it, if it comes to the table." Teller gave a sigh. "It's become a political issue now." But it could become a legal issue later. "The way I see it the Navajo Nation will be setting itself up for something beyond disagreeable," said MacDonald-Lonetree. She foresaw a lawsuit, but Curley disagreed, saying the PSC was only doing its constituted duty by voting on this issue. Chiding the committee, Curley asked MacDonald-Lonetree if the DOJ was now making decisions for the Public Safety Committee? "This legislation has caused too much controversy," said Clark. "I still sense at this point in time it's still not a good legislative act. It's embarrassing to our law enforcement. We can't keep having people sweeping things under the table." Lt. Clarence Bilagody of Shiprock Police District resigned his position in April so he could speak out on the plans to eliminate captain positions, which was a part of this restructuring package. At the time Cowboy denied there was any such plan. Bilagody also went onto charge that Benally had created a hostile work environment and he suggested that the restructuring may be more about personalities than policies. Bilagody also claimed that Cowboy flipped him the middle finger. At the time, Shiprock Chapter President Duane "Chili" Yazzie expressed concern over the "forced resignation" of Bilagody. "It is not a good reflection on the department, the division or the Navajo Nation if the forced resignation resulted more from personality politics and less from substantiated cause," Yazzie said.
John Christian Hopkins can be reached at 1-505-371-5443, or by email at Hopkins1960@hotmail.com.
http://www.gallupindependent.com/2006/jun/061506irepnl.html
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Navajos declare state of emergency over wildfiresResidents evacuated

Navajos declare state of emergency over wildfiresResidents evacuated, blazes blamed on droughtSam Lewin 6/14/2006
Responding to a rash of wildfires on their sprawling reservation, two officials with the Navajo Nation have declared a state of emergency.A total of nine blazes are currently scorching tribal lands. The fires, which have led to the evacuation of some residents, are all blamed on severe drought conditions. Lighting has sparked some of the fires while the causes of others are still under investigation.Navajo president Joe Shirley, Jr., and Navajo Commission on Emergency Management head Herman Shorty jointly signed a resolution calling on all branches of Navajo government to plan for the worst and prepare to activate emergency funds.“The current and continued drought conditions in the Southwest, including the Navajo Nation, are such that [they] pose a substantial risk for wildland fires,” the resolution states.The blazes are centered on the Arizona/Utah border, including a 2,000-acre fire on Navajo Mountain. More than 30 people were evacuated from their home in the Arizona town of pine Springs, while a separate fire is threatening homes near the town of Heber, about 140 miles northeast of Phoenix. Perhaps the biggest scare came when tribal officials ordered 70 people living in the Navajo capitol of Window Rock to leave their homes and take refuge in an area school when flames from a 1655-acre wildfire came within a half-mile of the community. Several people were hospitalized, including two suffering from smoke inhalation. You can reach Sam Lewin at sam@okit.com
http://nativetimes.com/index.asp?action=displayarticle&article_id=7926
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Ceremonial seeks money to boost attendance

Ceremonial seeks money to boost attendance
By Zsombor PeterStaff Writer
GALLUP — In a bid to boost attendance during the city's Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial this year, coming up at the end of the July, Louis Bonaguidi will be asking the City Council for $15,000 Tuesday evening. According to a memo to the council from the City Clerk's Office, the Ceremonial Association's board of directors decided the $15,000 should be used for free admission to its Friday night show instead of free livestock feed this year and is requesting the city's permission. If approved, it will come in addition to the $25,000 the council agreed to award the event out of the city's lodgers tax revenues. Although the council is reluctant to subsidize established events it prefers using its funds to help nascent events get off the ground and asking them to stand on their own after a few years the Ceremonial provides a big boost to the local economy without fail every year. According to the state, it's the fifth largest tourist draw in New Mexico. And even though the event will be marking its 85th anniversary this year, the Ceremonial has been struggling to make ends meet since losing state sponsorship a decade ago. It's hoping for better days again now that the New Mexico Legislature has agreed to create an office for the Ceremonial within the state's Tourism Department and appropriated $125,000 for operational costs this year. During a recent visit to Gallup, Gov. Bill Richardson also spoke of his efforts to find a new director for the association. The council will also consider awarding a bid Tuesday for the construction of at least 30 new homes in the $100,000-$150,000 price range. City officials have called the shortage of affordable housing one of the main obstacles to economic development in Gallup. To entice reluctant developers, the city is offering free land, main water and sewer lines installed at its own expense, and $50,000. It hopes of recouping most of the $400,000 it will have invested in the endeavor, the city plans on placing a $10,000 lien on each home to be added to the final price tag. The city expects the homes to be completed within two years. They'll be built on a 6.8 acre plot by Patton and Dairy Drives the city bought for $300,000 to settle a lawsuit. After dealing with the Ceremonial, the council will consider another funding request by Teen Time's John Stewart. He's asking for $11,000 to purchase an air compressor for the paintball park he opened earlier this year behind the Larry Brian Mitchell Recreation Center. Stewart's mission isn't just fun and games. He started Teen Time, and the paintball park, to give local youth safe, recreational alternatives to using drugs. He's using the revenue from regular paying customers to subsidize the play of young substance abusers. Stewart's hope is that they'll stay clean for the privilege of playing every week for a nominal price. The council may also accept a deed for an 0.8 acre of land Tuesday from Gallup McKinley County Schools for the construction of a westside fire station near Gallup High School. City officials have been talking about building a fire station in the area for the past few years and won a $200,000 appropriation from the state this year to help make it happen. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. inside the City Council Chambers.
http://www.gallupindependent.com/2006/jun/061206crmnl.html
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