Black Mesa Peabody Coal debate
Encyclopedia
The Black Mesa Peabody Coal controversy arose in the 1960s over a mineral lease
in the Black Mesa
plateau
of the Four Corners region in the western United States
. The plateau overlaps the reservations
of the Navajo
and Hopi
Tribes
.
The controversy arose from an unusually generous agreement negotiated under questionable circumstances between the Tribes and Peabody Energy, and the coal
company's use and degradation of a potable source of water to transport coal via a pipeline from the mine to a power plant hundreds of miles away.
energy company based in the Midwestern United States
signed a contract
with the Navajo Tribe and two years later with the Hopi Tribe, allowing the company mineral rights and use of an aquifer
. The contract offered unusually advantageous terms for Peabody and was approved despite widespread opposition and the lack of clear authority by the governments of the respective Native American tribes
. It was negotiated by prominent natural resources attorney John Sterling Boyden, who claimed to be representing the Hopi Tribe while actually on the payroll of Peabody.
Peabody Energy pumped water from the underground Navajo Aquifer in a slurry pipeline
operation to transport extracted coal to the Mohave Generating Station in Laughlin, Nevada
. The Navajo Aquifer is the main source of potable groundwater
for the Navajo and Hopi tribes, who use the water for farming and livestock maintenance as well as drinking and other domestic uses. The tribes have alleged that the pumping of water by Peabody Energy has caused a severe decline in potable water and contamination of water sources. Both tribes, situated in an arid semi-desert, attach religious significance to water, considering it sacred, and have cultural, religious, and practical objections to over-use of water.
The Peabody mine, a coal strip mine, used the slurry to pump its coal through pipes 273 mi (439.3 km) away, where the coal could be filtered and used in the Mohave Generating Station in Laughlin, Nevada
. The generating station produces energy for the southern parts of California
and Nevada
. This was the only coal slurry operation in the country and only plant that used groundwater in such a way.
The Black Mesa Mine's last day of operation was December 31, 2005. One of the power plants served by the coal mined at the location had the highest emission levels in the Western United States.
The Office of Surface Mining approved Peabody's permit request to continue operations at the mine on 22 December 2008. However, in January 2010, an administrative law judge, on appeal of that approval, decided that the Final EIS did not satisfy the National Environmental Policy Act because it did not take into account changed conditions, and vacated the approval.
Mineral Leasing Act of 1920
The Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 et seq. is a United States federal law that authorizes and governs leasing of public lands for developing deposits of coal, petroleum, natural gas and other hydrocarbons, in addition to phosphates, sodium, sulphur, and potassium in the United States...
in the Black Mesa
Black Mesa, Arizona
Black Mesa is an upland area in Navajo County, Arizona. In Navajo it is called and during Mexican rule of Arizona it was called Mesa de las Vacas . It derives its dark appearance from the numerous seams of coal which run through it...
plateau
Plateau
In geology and earth science, a plateau , also called a high plain or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat terrain. A highly eroded plateau is called a dissected plateau...
of the Four Corners region in the western United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The plateau overlaps the reservations
Indian reservation
An American Indian reservation is an area of land managed by a Native American tribe under the United States Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs...
of the Navajo
Navajo Nation
The Navajo Nation is a semi-autonomous Native American-governed territory covering , occupying all of northeastern Arizona, the southeastern portion of Utah, and northwestern New Mexico...
and Hopi
Hopi
The Hopi are a federally recognized tribe of indigenous Native American people, who primarily live on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona. The Hopi area according to the 2000 census has a population of 6,946 people. Their Hopi language is one of the 30 of the Uto-Aztecan language...
Tribes
Indian tribe
In the United States, a Native American tribe is any extant or historical tribe, band, nation, or other group or community of Indigenous peoples in the United States...
.
The controversy arose from an unusually generous agreement negotiated under questionable circumstances between the Tribes and Peabody Energy, and the coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
company's use and degradation of a potable source of water to transport coal via a pipeline from the mine to a power plant hundreds of miles away.
Controversy
In 1964, Peabody Energy (then Peabody Western Coal), a publicly-tradedPublic company
This is not the same as a Government-owned corporation.A public company or publicly traded company is a limited liability company that offers its securities for sale to the general public, typically through a stock exchange, or through market makers operating in over the counter markets...
energy company based in the Midwestern United States
Midwestern United States
The Midwestern United States is one of the four U.S. geographic regions defined by the United States Census Bureau, providing an official definition of the American Midwest....
signed a contract
Contract
A contract is an agreement entered into by two parties or more with the intention of creating a legal obligation, which may have elements in writing. Contracts can be made orally. The remedy for breach of contract can be "damages" or compensation of money. In equity, the remedy can be specific...
with the Navajo Tribe and two years later with the Hopi Tribe, allowing the company mineral rights and use of an aquifer
Aquifer
An aquifer is a wet underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock or unconsolidated materials from which groundwater can be usefully extracted using a water well. The study of water flow in aquifers and the characterization of aquifers is called hydrogeology...
. The contract offered unusually advantageous terms for Peabody and was approved despite widespread opposition and the lack of clear authority by the governments of the respective Native American tribes
Indian tribe
In the United States, a Native American tribe is any extant or historical tribe, band, nation, or other group or community of Indigenous peoples in the United States...
. It was negotiated by prominent natural resources attorney John Sterling Boyden, who claimed to be representing the Hopi Tribe while actually on the payroll of Peabody.
Peabody Energy pumped water from the underground Navajo Aquifer in a slurry pipeline
Slurry pipeline
A slurry pipeline is used in mining to transport mineral concentrate from a mineral processing plant near a mine.- Overview :The concentrate of the ore is mixed with water and then pumped over a long distance to a port where it can be shipped for further processing. At the end of the pipeline, the...
operation to transport extracted coal to the Mohave Generating Station in Laughlin, Nevada
Laughlin, Nevada
Laughlin is a census-designated place in Clark County, Nevada, United States, and a port located on the Colorado River. Laughlin is south of Las Vegas, located in the far southern tip of Nevada. It is best known for its gaming, entertainment, and water recreation. As of the 2010 census, the...
. The Navajo Aquifer is the main source of potable groundwater
Groundwater
Groundwater is water located beneath the ground surface in soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. A unit of rock or an unconsolidated deposit is called an aquifer when it can yield a usable quantity of water. The depth at which soil pore spaces or fractures and voids in rock...
for the Navajo and Hopi tribes, who use the water for farming and livestock maintenance as well as drinking and other domestic uses. The tribes have alleged that the pumping of water by Peabody Energy has caused a severe decline in potable water and contamination of water sources. Both tribes, situated in an arid semi-desert, attach religious significance to water, considering it sacred, and have cultural, religious, and practical objections to over-use of water.
The Peabody mine, a coal strip mine, used the slurry to pump its coal through pipes 273 mi (439.3 km) away, where the coal could be filtered and used in the Mohave Generating Station in Laughlin, Nevada
Laughlin, Nevada
Laughlin is a census-designated place in Clark County, Nevada, United States, and a port located on the Colorado River. Laughlin is south of Las Vegas, located in the far southern tip of Nevada. It is best known for its gaming, entertainment, and water recreation. As of the 2010 census, the...
. The generating station produces energy for the southern parts of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
. This was the only coal slurry operation in the country and only plant that used groundwater in such a way.
The Black Mesa Mine's last day of operation was December 31, 2005. One of the power plants served by the coal mined at the location had the highest emission levels in the Western United States.
The Office of Surface Mining approved Peabody's permit request to continue operations at the mine on 22 December 2008. However, in January 2010, an administrative law judge, on appeal of that approval, decided that the Final EIS did not satisfy the National Environmental Policy Act because it did not take into account changed conditions, and vacated the approval.
External links
- Peabody Energy company website
- Black Mesa Trust organization
- Black Mesa Indigenous Support
- "Black Mesa coal mine," SourceWatch
- "Peabody Energy," SourceWatch
- "Coal and Native American tribal lands," SourceWatch
- "Arizona and coal," SourceWatch
- The "Curse of the Black Mesa" and the Lehman Brothers
- Report on the history of Black Mesa as a sacred site
- "Drawdown: An Update on Groundwater Mining on Black Mesa," a 2000 report (updated in 2006) by the Natural Resources Defense CouncilNatural Resources Defense CouncilThe Natural Resources Defense Council is a New York City-based, non-profit, non-partisan international environmental advocacy group, with offices in Washington DC, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Beijing...
on the effects on the Hopi's and Navajo's drinking water sources