Water source a key issue for Paiutes’ power plant plan

Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2000 | 9:37 a.m.

Meetings

Two public meetings have been scheduled on the power plant request:

The public comment period on a proposed natural gas-fired power plant at the Moapa Indian Reservation has been extended, the Bureau of Indian Affairs announced last week.

The original deadline for written comments was Aug. 18, but has been extended to Oct. 1, an announcement in the Federal Register said on Thursday.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Bureau of Land Management will cooperate in preparing an analysis of the environmental impacts from the plant on 40 acres of Paiute land located 45 miles northeast of Las Vegas.

The tribe and Calpine Energy Co. of San Jose, Calif., have teamed up to build the plant that could supply electricity to Nevada, California and Arizona, producing as much as $200 million for the Paiutes over 35 years.

The major issue from a preliminary review of the project is finding enough water. In June the tribe asked the state engineer's office for 7,000 acre-feet of ground water.

The Southern Nevada Water Authority has protested the project's request for ground water, saying the region is already overdrawn and that the authority has prior water rights in Moapa Valley.

Water Authority General Manager Pat Mulroy said Calpine and tribal officials had met with her agency. Local water officials had suggested an air-cooled power plant instead of one using water.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has sent some comments on the proposal to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, urging project managers to look at alternative technologies for the natural gas-fired plant.

In addition to urging the bureau to look at conservation measures for water use, the EPA said the project has to consider how to manage and dispose of sludge that could contain selenium, arsenic or other toxic waste.

Since such contaminants are considered hazardous, the residual left in a 5-acre evaporation pond would have to be disposed of in a proper landfill.

The project leaders also must assess other effects the project may have on surrounding desert plants and wildlife.