SRP
Hopes To Use C-Aquifer Water To Reopen Mohave Generating
Station
By Tammy Gray-Searles
When the
Mohave Generating Station in Laughlin, Nev., closed
its doors last December, it looked like the end of the
power plant, the end of the Black Mesa Mine and the
end of an attempt to use water from the Coconino Aquifer
(C-aquifer) to move coal from the mine to the plant.
However,
in September, Salt River Project (SRP) officials made
public their attempt to reopen the Mohave power plant
when they asked the Office of Surface Mining to resume
an environmental impact study on the effects of using
water from the C-aquifer in a 273-mile coal slurry pipeline.
SRP owns
20 percent of the Mohave Generating Station, and is
seeking new business partners to help retrofit and reopen
the plant.
“Returning
the Mohave facility to service will provide much-needed
energy to SRP’s rapidly growing service territory in
the greater Phoenix metropolitan area,” noted a written
statement from SRP.
The Mohave
plant was shut down after owners decided not to install
new required pollution control devices, which were estimated
to cost a minimum of $500 million, and possibly up to
$1.1 billion. As the deadline for installing the new
pollution control devices approached, Navajo and Hopi
tribal officials made it clear that they also wanted
the companies involved in operating the slurry line
to find a new source of water. Up until the Mohave plant’s
closure, water for the slurry line was pumped from the
Navajo Aquifer (N-aquifer) through an agreement with
the tribes.
Plant officials
looked to the massive C-aquifer, which lies under much
of Navajo, Apache and Coconino counties, and is the
largest water source in the area, as a potential source
of water for the slurry line. Several test wells were
drilled in the Leupp area, and an environmental impact
study was initiated with the Office of Surface Mining.
The office conducted field work, held several public
hearings and comment periods, and was preparing a draft
statement when in June, the Mohave plant owners, with
the exception of SRP, announced that they would not
pursue reopening the plant. The Office of Surface Mining,
noting that, “the viability of the proposed project
is in question,” suspended the environmental study.
In September,
at the request of SRP officials, the mining office resumed
the study and plans to release a draft environmental
impact statement late this month. Several public hearings
will be held in January to hear comments on the impact
statement.
The statement
will address four major issues: mining operations by
Peabody Western Coal Company at the Black Mesa and Kayenta
mines; a permit request for continued operation of the
273-mile slurry line; a proposal to reconstruct a majority
of the slurry pipeline; and a proposal to construct
a new water supply system near Leupp that would draw
water from the C-aquifer for use in the slurry pipeline.
According
to the documents filed, Peabody plans to use 6,000 acre-feet
of water (nearly two billion gallons) per year from
the C-aquifer. The company was using 3,100 acre-feet
(just over one billion gallons) of water per year from
the N-aquifer before operations halted.
If the use
of water from the C-aquifer is approved and the Mohave
Generating Station is reopened, the impact on Holbrook
and surrounding communities, including those both on
and off the reservation, could be a convoluted mixture
of economic gain and water supply loss.
Holbrook,
Winslow, Snowflake, Taylor, Show Low and Pinetop-Lakeside
are among the communities that rely on the C-aquifer
as a source of water, and it is not clear how massive
pumping of non-potable water from one area of the aquifer
would affect the amount of clean drinking water in other
areas of the aquifer. Holbrook, for example, currently
boasts a 100-year water supply, but that could change
if the C-aquifer is tapped for heavy industrial uses
like the coal slurry pipeline. Other communities, such
as rapidly growing Show Low, are already keeping a close
eye on their water supply and could also be affected
by changes in water levels in the aquifer.
Plans to
pipe water from the proposed new wells to communities
across the reservation also have some officials concerned
that too much water will be taken at once from the aquifer.
Ultimately, how much water can be pumped from the Leupp
wells rests with the Navajo Nation, because they do
not fall within an active state water management area.
On the other
hand, the reopening of the Mohave plant would mean the
resuming of operations at the Black Mesa Mine and potential
jobs for the more than 300 workers who were laid off
when the mine closed. Employment at the mine would not
only benefit local businesses in Holbrook and Winslow,
but revenues generated by the sale of coal would eventually
make their way to the Navajo County government and the
tribes, increasing the economic well-being of the entire
region. Since the closure of the mine, the Hopi and
Navajo tribes have both been scrambling to find ways
to make up for the massive loss of revenue.
The attempt
to reopen the Mohave Generating Station still faces
many obstacles, and even with approval from the Office
of Surface Mining, agreements must still be reached
with the Navajo Nation and the Hopi Tribe before the
slurry line and Black Mesa Mine can reopen. SRP must
also locate new business partners willing to invest
hundreds of millions of dollars to install pollution
control devices at the plant.
A public
hearing on the draft environmental impact statement
will be held at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 10, at Winslow
High School, located at 600 East Cherry Ave.
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