News Release Archive

Draft Environmental Impact Statement Now Available for the Navajo Generating Station – Kayenta Mine Complex Project

Media Contact: Sandra Eto, 623-773-6254, seto@usbr.gov

For Release: September 29, 2016

Phoenix, Ariz. — In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act, the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) has prepared a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Navajo Generating Station – Kayenta Mine Complex Project. The Draft EIS evaluates the potential environmental impacts of extending the operation and maintenance of the Navajo Generating Station (NGS) and associated facilities, and the continued production of coal from the Kayenta Mine, from 2020 through 2044. The current plant-site lease for the NGS expires on Dec. 22, 2019.

The NGS, located on tribal trust land leased from the Navajo Nation near Page, Arizona, provides power to over one million customers in the southwestern United States and is the primary source of electricity for operation of the Central Arizona Project (CAP). The CAP, a Federal water supply project constructed by Reclamation, delivers over 1.5 million acre-feet of Colorado River water annually to tribal, agricultural, municipal, and industrial water users in Maricopa, Pinal, and Pima counties, Arizona. Reclamation, although not an owner of the NGS, is authorized by statute to participate in the NGS and use its share of NGS power to operate the pumps that deliver CAP water. Coal used by the NGS to generate this power is exclusively provided by the Kayenta Mine, located about 80 miles southeast of the NGS on tribal trust lands leased from both the Navajo Nation and Hopi Tribe.

The Draft EIS is available for public review and comment from Sept. 30, 2016, to Nov. 29, 2016. To download a copy of the Draft EIS or to find information on locations where a hard copy is available for review, please visit http://www.ngskmc-eis.net . Interested parties may also call Project Manager Sandra Eto at 623-773-6254 for information on repository locations.

The public is also invited to attend public meetings to learn about the proposed project and to provide input on the environmental analysis presented in the Draft EIS. Input from the public will ensure the adequacy and accuracy of the environmental document and will help the Department of the Interior make a well-informed decision on the proposed project. All written comments must be postmarked by the end of the comment period on Nov. 29, 2016, for consideration in the Final EIS. Send written comments via postal mail, hand delivery or courier to: NGS-KMC Project Manager, PXAO-1500 Bureau of Reclamation, Phoenix Area Office 6150 W. Thunderbird Road Glendale, AZ 85306-4001

Comments may also be faxed to 623-773-6483, emailed to NGSKMC-EIS@usbr.gov or submitted in person at any of the 11 public meetings.

Information about the public meetings, as well as a schedule and list of meeting locations is available at http://ngskmc-eis.net/draft-eis .

To learn more about the Navajo Generating Station – Kayenta Mine Complex Project, visit http://ngskmc-eis.net/draft-eis or call Project Manager Sandra Eto at 623-773-6254.

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The Bureau of Reclamation is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior and is the nation's largest wholesale water supplier and second largest producer of hydroelectric power. Our facilities also provide substantial flood control, recreation opportunities, and environmental benefits. Visit our website at https://www.usbr.gov and follow us on Twitter @USBR; Facebook @bureau.of.reclamation; LinkedIn @Bureau of Reclamation; Instagram @bureau_of_reclamation; and YouTube @reclamation.