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Nicole Horseherder, Executive Director of Tó Nizhóní Ání, nhorseherder@gmail.com
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Jihan Gearon, Executive Director of Black Mesa Water Coalition, jihan@blackmesawatercoalition.org
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Thomas Young, Sierra Club Regional Communications Manager, thomas.young@sierraclub.org
Navajo Nation -- Today, Diné (Navajo) community organizations Tó Nizhóni Ání and Black Mesa Water Coalition, along with Sierra Club, filed a notice of intent (NOI) to sue Peabody Western Coal Company, a subsidiary of Peabody Energy, for failing to disclose the upcoming closure of its Kayenta coal mine in its permit renewal application. The 44,000-acre Kayenta coal mine is on track to end operations when the Navajo Generating Station (NGS) -- the mine’s only customer -- closes on December 22, 2019.
This filing seeks for Peabody to vacate the current operating permit and open a new permit application which accounts for mine closure later this year, including all the reclamation obligations required thereafter.
Peabody’s permit application stipulated there was no proposal for “any revisions to the approved mining and reclamation plan” through the permit term, ending in July of 2020, even though it was clear the mine would close in 2019. This NOI highlights the fact that Peabody Energy was responsible for disclosing this information to the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) before the permit was approved in October of 2017 -- eight months after the NGS owners announced, in February 2017, they would close the plant in 2019.
“Peabody Energy is blatantly neglecting its legal obligation to prepare for reclamation of the Kayenta mine, which is on track to close later this year,” said Nicole Horseherder, Executive Director of Tó Nizhóní Ání. “We are tired of Peabody’s issues with doing what is right. They knew the mine would have to close at the end of this year, and they just brushed that under the table. Peabody is constantly trying to dodge its compliance at the Kayenta mine. Peabody has a long history of ignoring or abandoning the communities that helped it reap billions in profits, and we can’t let them do the same to the Navajo Nation.”
“Peabody is trying to sidestep its reclamation responsibilities by pretending the Navajo Generating Station isn’t on track to close in 2019, but it is, and that’s been the case for two years,” said Jihan Gearon, Executive Director of Black Mesa Water Coalition.
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About Black Mesa Water Coalition
BMWC was formed in 2001 by a group of young inter-tribal, inter-ethnic people dedicated to addressing issues of water depletion, natural resource exploitation, and public health within Navajo and Hopi communities. Since then BMWC has grown into a well-established non-profit organization and a leader in social justice and economic transition issues in the Southwest and around the country. Learn more at www.blackmesawatercoalition.org.
About Tó Nizhóní Ání
Tó Nizhóní Ání (TNA) "Sacred Water Speaks", is a grassroots 501(c)3 non-profit organization, which originated near Big Mountain, on the Black Mesa Plateau in the northeastern region of Arizona. Founded in 2000, Tó Nizhóní Ání's mission is to protect and preserve the environment, land, water, sky and to advocate for the wise and responsible use of the natural resources on of Black Mesa. TNA members work with local communities, translating technical data and educating communities. Learn more at www.facebook.com/tonizhoniani/.
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3 million members and supporters. In addition to helping people from all backgrounds explore nature and our outdoor heritage, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.