Edison Moves to Reopen Big Desert Power Plant

Southern California Edison Co. and two Indian tribes have taken a tentative step toward reopening the giant Mohave power plant in Nevada that was shut down due to pollution.

Before being taken off line in January, the coal-fired plant was a major source of electricity for Southern California.

Under a proposed agreement with Edison, the Navajo nation and the Hopi tribe of northern Arizona would supply the 1,585-megawatt plant in Laughlin, Nev., with water from tribal lands and coal from the Black Mesa mine, which is owned by the tribes and operated by Peabody Energy Corp. In return, Edison and its partners in the Mohave power plant would make a series of payments to the tribes.

The proposal faces several major hurdles, including winning the endorsement of the two tribal councils, Congress, the Interior Department, Edison’s Mohave partners and the California Public Utilities Commission.

What’s more, Edison would need to install about $1 billion worth of pollution-control equipment to satisfy a 1999 consent decree requiring the utility to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions from the plant, which was one of the biggest sources of air pollution in the Southwest and contributed to the haze that obscures views at Grand Canyon National Park.

The most controversial part of the proposed deal would allow Peabody to continue to draw water from the Navajo Aquifer, which the Indians rely on for drinking, farming and livestock. The water would be used at the Black Mesa mine to transport pulverized coal through a 273-mile pipeline to the power plant.

The proposed agreement, outlined in a March 7 memo and not yet binding on the parties, also would require the tribes, Edison and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to cooperate in the development of a new water source for the coal pipeline.

Allowing Peabody to continue using water from the aquifer could endanger a precious resource in the parched desert region, said David Beckman, a senior attorney in Los Angeles for the Natural Resources Defense Council. Last week, his group issued a report that it said contradicted government findings that Peabody’s pumping did not exceed legal limits.

“Peabody has long claimed it intended to cease pumping from the [Navajo] aquifer, but this impending deal puts the lie to that claim,” Beckman said.

Peabody spokeswoman Beth Sutton disputed the council’s report: “The Navajo Aquifer remains healthy and robust.”

Edison, the tribes and Peabody all declined to comment on the proposed agreement, which was first reported by the Gallup, N.M., Independent.

Mohave produced about 7% of Southern California’s electricity before being mothballed New Year’s Day after Edison failed to comply with the 1999 consent decree, which settled a lawsuit brought against the plant’s owners by a coalition of environmental groups.

Bill Hedden, executive director of the Grand Canyon Trust, which spearheaded the lawsuit against Edison, said he was waiting to see whether the parties in the coal and water negotiations could overcome “a million complications” before dealing with Mohave’s air pollution problems.

The closure of the power plant was a blow to the local tribal economies. The plant was the only customer for coal from the Black Mesa mine, and 600 high-paying jobs -- mostly filled by Navajos -- were eliminated when the Mohave plant closed. In addition, the Navajo and Hopi governments lost the millions of dollars they received each year in royalty payments from the mine.

Edison, a unit of Rosemead-based Edison International, owns 56% of the Mohave plant and was its operator. The remaining ownership is divided among three partners, including the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.