The Navajo Nation Council has approved a renewal of the Tribe’s lease with the Navajo Generating Station. The extension proposal raises annual tribal revenues from about $3 million a year secured in the original 1969 lease to $44 million a year during the tenure of the new lease, between 2019 and 2044.
The council voted 16-6 in favor of the legislation during its session late last week.
Navajo Nation President Ben Shelly, a staunch promoter of jobs, advocated for the extension in a letter to the Council asking them to pass the extension, and council visited chambers to lobby for the lease.
The electricity generated by the plant delivers water to Arizona’s most populated areas through a series of canals and ensures water rights settlements with American Indian tribes are met.
Salt River Project, which operates the plant, said Friday it was thankful the council extended the lease. “We are currently reviewing the amendments that were included in the final vote, but the initial indication is the amendments are acceptable,” said Mike Hummel, the utility’s chief power system executive.
According to Indiancountrytoday.com, the amendments will solidify the Nation’s rights to 50,000 acre-feet a year of Colorado River water the tribe has been leasing to the Navajo Generating Station since the plant’s opening. Also the new terms will change employment practices to increase Navajo hiring preference.
The NGS provides electricity for millions of customers in the southwest and jobs for about 520 people, more than 85 percent of them Navajo. The Kayenta Mine, the plant’s coal supplier, employs more than 400 people, most of whom are also Native American.
A recent Arizona State University study shows that the NGS and the Kayenta Mine stand to contribute nearly $3 billion to the Navajo Nation economy through sustained jobs and wages, if it stays operational until 2044.