Agreement reached in Desert Rock protest

KVOA Tuscon Television

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- A Navajo district judge has approved an agreement that allows work to continue at the site of a proposed coal-fired power plant in northwestern New Mexico while letting a group of protesters voice their opposition as long as no laws are broken.

Under the agreement signed Wednesday by Judge Genevieve Woody, Houston-based Sithe Global Power and the tribe's Dine Power Authority can continue surveying and drilling test wells in preparation of a draft environmental impact statement for the Desert Rock Energy Project.

"It's a win-win situation," said Frank Maisano, a spokesman for Sithe. "They have a right to continue to express their views and we, on the other hand, have a right to continue work."

The $3 billion plant is expected to bring hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars in tax revenues and royalty payments to the Navajo Nation. Officials have also said the plant would supply power to fast-growing cities in the Southwest while using high-tech pollution control systems to limit emissions.

But opponents contend Desert Rock is a threat to tribal resources, the environment and cultural landmarks that dot northwestern New Mexico.

A group of Navajos has been camped at the remote Desert Rock site for three weeks, but lawyers for Sithe and DPA recently sought a restraining order to clear the protesters from a road leading to the site so that work could resume.

Woody was set to hear arguments in the case Wednesday, but lawyers for both sides submitted the agreement. As part of the deal, neither side can infringe upon the rights of the other to assemble or conduct work related to the draft environmental impact statement.

Maisano said survey work related to the EIS has been ongoing since a temporary restraining order was granted Dec. 20. He said workers are hopeful that much of the data they collect over the next several weeks will be included in the document.

Lori Goodman, a member of Dine Citizens Against Ruining our Environment and the Dooda Desert Rock Committee, said the protesters _ some of them Navajo elders who live in the area _ are simply respecting the Fundamental Laws of the Dine by setting up camp near the site.

Those laws, Goodman said, include preserving the beauty of the natural world for future generations and protecting "all creation, from Mother Earth and Father Sky to the animals."

She also noted that Navajo tribal code protects the group's rights to freedom of speech and assembly.

"There is a need to have an observation post to monitor and document what is taking place at the site," she said late Wednesday. "The people are committed to this and will remain at the site."