‘Yes to NGS’? More like ‘maybe’

Posted by Arlyssa Becenti | Apr 5, 2018 | News |

WINDOW ROCK

Driving through the city of Page, Arizona, it’s easy to spot the blue “Yes to NGS” signs placed on business windows.

But at a recent meeting, the Naabik’iyáti Committee stopped short of joining the group behind the signs.

On March 22, the committee tabled legislation to authorize the Navajo Nation to join and support the Yes to NGS Coalition, a group of coal miners and others who want to find a way to keep the aging coal-fired Navajo Generating Station open past its scheduled closing date at the end of 2019.

With the current owners winding down their interest in the plant, time is running out for the Navajo Nation to find a buyer who will continue operations in order to keep the more than 800 jobs that NGS currently supports.

Joining Yes to NGS would provide an opportunity for the Council and Speaker LoRenzo Bates to collaborate with the United Mine Workers of America, which established Yes to NGS, to advocate for the continuation of NGS beyond 2019.

“We want to keep our Navajo jobs on Navajo and keep our Navajo families together,” said the bill’s sponsor, Delegate Nathaniel Brown. “We have multiple people within the Navajo Nation government that benefit from the revenue and taxes that go into the general funds.”

Jarvis Williams, tribal relations manager for Peabody Energy, which owns the Kayenta Coal Mine that feeds the plant, mentioned that back in January a similar bill had been passed, but language had to be clarified first before the Navajo Nation could begin partnering with the UMWA to save the plant.

“We feel optimistic at this point of the continuation of NGS,” said Williams. “We are excited about this movement and the messages that are going out there. We are hoping the Navajo Nation will join us to keep the jobs and the families together.”