#Hydropower Developer No-Show Leaves #Navajos with More Questions than Answers

Chapter officials table hydropower resolution, ask for more community info sessions as FERC seeks to end a policy blocking permits on Tribal land absent Tribal support

by #HerbYazzie, Coal-Lease Area Resident; #AdrianHerder, #TóNizhóníÁní; #TaylorMcKinnon, #CenterForBiologicalDiversity
via #CensoredNews, Nov. 21, 2025

Excerpts: #KayentaAZ— "On a cloudy, rainy Wednesday afternoon, the Kayenta Chapter held its monthly meeting where a resolution by #NatureAndPeopleFirst was first on the agenda. Impacted community members from the coal-lease area on Black Mesa (#DziłYíjiin) filled the chapter house to voice concern about the resolution. But before discussions could begin, Chapter officials tabled the resolution because the developers didn’t show up.

"Nature and People First (#NPF) are developers who are pushing #PumpedStorageHydropower (#PSH) on the #NavajoNation, particularly in the #BlackMesa region. Pumped storage pumps water uphill during low electricity prices and then releases it back downhill through generators when electricity prices are high, producing electricity and revenue. Pumped storage #hydropower, which requires huge amounts of water, is different than hydrogen, which other developers wanted piped across the Nation."

[...]

"#TóNizhóníÁní (#TNA) e-filed comments objecting to #FERC’s proposed policy reversal along with the #CenterForBiologicalDiversity, #AmericanRivers and more than a dozen #tribes across the US. 'For decades, #CoalMining on #BlackMesa has not only extracted coal but also billions of gallons of #groundwater to support the #mining operation,' wrote #AdrianHerder with Tó Nizhóní Ání. 'Energy projects that propose to use large amounts of water for #EnergyProduction should be vetted diligently.' Water access and reliability is crucial for our communities on Black Mesa and the southwest region of the United States.

"Tribal communities understand the resources and impacts by industry. Any project that proposes to use groundwater when it has been heavily impacted and in a state of recovery should not be considered for continued industry use."

https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2025/11/hydropower-developer-no-show-leaves.html

#WaterIsLife #Diné #Dineteh #Greenwashing #PeabodyCoal #ReaderSupportedNews

LOIS HENRY: Kern River among top 10 'most endangered rivers' in the country

https://www.bakersfield.com/columnists/lois-henry/lois-henry-kern-river-among-top-10-most-endangered-rivers-in-the-country/article_67ef1d78-bf2e-11ec-b5c9-3703e62801c9.html

#KernRiver #EndangeredRivers #AmericanRivers #environment #ExcessiveWaterWithdrawals #BringBackTheKern #PublicInterest #StateWaterResourcesControlBoard #KernDeltaWaterDistrict

#industrial #agriculture #ProfitsOverPeople

#MarkMulkay #KernRiverWatermaster didn't agree that the Kern is "endangered." #greed #corruption #ignorance

https://www.bringbackthekern.org/

#Bakersfield #KernCounty