Summary
Project approval on reservations can also be complex. On the Navajo Reservation, at least seven offices are involved - federal agencies, plus the Navajo Environmental Protection Agency, the president's office, tribal council and the local chapter. Meanwhile, changes in tribal administrations can mean dramatic shifts in attitude. That's unsettling for developers, says [Roger Taylor]: "Energy is a long-term project. You can't do energy in an unstable environment."
"He divided the people," says Larry Ahasteen, IPP's renewable-energy specialist. "It was political sabotage." But O'[Connor] says his organization "followed at every step of the way the spirit and the letter of Navajo law."Navajo President Joe Shirley Jr. wants renewable projects to succeed, says his spokesman, George Hardeen. But [Ed Singer] believes the current dispute could deter other projects. "It's fairly wellknown that it's very hard to do energy development on the Navajo Nation already. It's hard to even open a business," he says. "All this doesn't help."See the full content of this document
Extract
Coming to Blows
Long ago, the Navajos called Gray Mountain the "Mountain of Hope" for the healing powers of its herbs. Now this long ridge of bleak rock, just west of the tiny community of Cameron, Ariz., offers the tribe hope of a different sort. With its 17-mphaverage winds and open transmission space on near...
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