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Business Wire
a day ago
- Business
- Business Wire
Navajo Transitional Energy Company Marks the First-Ever Return of Land Leased for Coal Mining Back to the Navajo Nation
FARMINGTON, N.M.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Navajo Transitional Energy Company (NTEC) is proud to announce the return of a 2,211-acre parcel of Navajo land first leased for mining in 1957. This is an historic event since no other mining company has previously fully reclaimed coal mine land to today's standards to allow for its proper release from Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) jurisdiction back to the Navajo Nation. The parcel is located at the north end of NTEC's Navajo Mine, within the Nenahnezad Chapter of the Navajo Nation and close to Farmington and Shiprock, NM. NTEC and the Navajo Nation celebrated this momentous event with a traditional blessing at the Navajo Mine hogan today. Navajo Nation President Dr. Buu Nygren, as well as Navajo Council delegates from the Resources and Development Committee, officials, and citizens from the Nenahnezad chapter were also on hand for the event. The land was originally leased from the Navajo Nation to Utah Mining and Construction Company in 1957 for mining coal. The 2,000+ acre parcel being returned today was where mining operations first commenced over 60 years ago. Active mining operations ended many years ago and beginning in 2004, the Nenahnezad Chapter requested the return of the land from BHP Billiton, who owned the mine at the time. However, disagreements over the applicable reclamation standards to be used on the land stalled efforts between agencies for approval of the surrender. Some of the lands were considered 'pre-law,' meaning that there were no reclamation standards in place when active mining was completed. Interim Guidelines governed other parts of the land, while the rest remained undisturbed. Both the Navajo Nation and the Nenahnezad Chapter asked NTEC to make the return of this parcel of land a priority at the time NTEC took over Navajo Mine in 2013. As a Navajo-owned company, NTEC is committed to restoring mined lands for our communities, and protecting the land, water, air, and wildlife. At that time, only limited reclamation work had been done on the pre-law lands, and the work that had been done was found to be 'inconsistent and often unacceptable' by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. To ensure the land was reclaimed and returned to the Nation as intended, NTEC brought together representatives from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Navajo Nation Minerals Department, and Nenahnezad Chapter to review the reclamation status up to that point. To eliminate any disagreements related to reclamation standards, NTEC took the unprecedented step of volunteering to reclaim the entire parcel to the interim reclamation standard - regardless of when the parcel had been mined and consistent with the reclamation standard of surrounding lands. This meant that NTEC had to commit considerable expense, time, and resources to re-start the entire reclamation process. To meet the interim reclamation standards, NTEC had to extensively regrade the entire parcel and plan proper drainage channels to manage future runoff. Permanent animal habitat structures and native grasses had to be established and then irrigated for at least 2 years to ensure the parcel met what is referred to as the 'suitable for grazing' standard. Today, NTEC returned the land to the Navajo Nation at the NTEC Navajo Mine Hogan after completing one last critical step in the process - a traditional Navajo blessing to commemorate the land being returned. President Buu Nygren attended the historic event. 'This is a positive step by NTEC. I now look forward to BIA's swift action in releasing the land back to the Navajo Nation. I am confident that BIA will move quickly so that the first ever release of formerly mined land back to the Navajo Nation will be accomplished under my Administration,' he said. 'NTEC is honored to return this land to the Navajo Nation and its people. We believe in doing what is right and creating multi-generational solutions. We proudly support the sovereignty of the Navajo Nation over its own natural resources and take our commitment to reclamation seriously. With more than 26 thousand acres of land reclaimed to date, NTEC leads reclamation efforts throughout the industry. This is a legacy we are extremely proud of,' said Vern K. Lund, Chief Executive Officer for NTEC. About NTEC Navajo Transitional Energy Company (NTEC) is a world-class, diversified energy company with a unique purpose and vision. Established by the Navajo Nation to exercise sovereignty over its abundant natural resources, NTEC has grown rapidly and now has a sizeable and successful portfolio of mining, energy generation, and helium assets. NTEC is committed to achieving multi-generational, clean energy solutions that ensure the continued prosperity of the Navajo Nation while providing essential power to the entire Southwest and beyond. NTEC was recognized with the Sentinels of Safety award from the National Mining Association, and the Safety Award for Large Surface Mine from the Rocky Mountain Coal Institute in 2022, and the OSMRE National Award for Excellence in Surface Mining Reclamation in 2024, 2022, and 2020. For more information, visit
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Why Navajo activists oppose a proposed hydrogen pipeline that could be the world's longest
Activist Jessica Keetso voiced strong opposition to a proposed hydrogen pipeline through her Navajo Nation homeland during a discussion on energy development and environmental justice at the Society of Environmental Journalists' 34th Annual Conference in Tempe. Keetso, of environmental advocacy organization Tó Nizhóní Ání, and Capital & Main reporter Jerry Redfern emphasized the historical exploitation of Navajo resources. Redfern said: 'In the last 100 years, there's been near-constant mineral extraction of all types on Navajo lands: coal, uranium, vanadium, oil, gas. And it has never brought a great deal of prosperity.' Tallgrass Energy's proposed hydrogen pipeline could potentially be the world's longest. It would stretch over 200 miles from Shiprock, New Mexico, to north of Flagstaff, following an existing Navajo-owned natural gas pipeline that runs along 13 inhabited communities. The company in 2020 bought a shuttered coal power plant located just slightly south of the Navajo Nation. It wants to transform the structure into a hydrogen power plant, where it either make the hydrogen or transport it. It also planned the construction of another factory in Farmington, New Mexico, solely to sequester CO2, Redfern explained. The project aligns with the Western Interstate Hydrogen Hub, backed by New Mexico's Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham. It is seeking $1.25 billion in federal funds to develop hydrogen from natural gas in the Four Corners region. But while Tallgrass Energy promoted it as a clean energy solution, the pipeline aims to leverage the Navajo Nation's natural resources. Tallgrass has been engaging tribal leaders since 2021, Keetso said. Keetso and Redfern argued that hydrogen production from natural gas perpetuates the same century-old harms, consuming scarce water resources and risking further ecological damage. 'More roads that go into building gas or oil operations tear up and divide the landscape,' Redfern said. There's also the problem of fuels leaking into the surrounding environment, the panelists explain. Hydrogen also requires special pipelines. It can't be run in the same pipelines of natural gas. 'I would not want a natural gas plant running, they're unsafe. And then a CO2 pipeline, that's also very dangerous, and a hydrogen pipeline, all close to one another,' Redfern said. Keetso said 'none of those concerns have been addressed.' 'There's a lot of people living along that pipeline route,' she said. 'There's three chapters that don't have internet, so how are you going to monitor these in case of an accident?' In the crowd, researcher Joe Romm, author of the book The Hype About Hydrogen, supports the panelists' concerns. 'It's ridiculous to take natural gas, split out the hydrogen and then burn the hydrogen atoms,' Romm said. 'World's projects have all ended up being scrapped in the last 6 to 9 months for green hydrogen.' The discussion underscored distrust in Tallgrass Energy's corporate promises of economic benefits, given past unfulfilled commitments. It also highlighted a demand for sovereignty, sustainability, and accountability in energy projects. 'We don't want this in our community. It's not welcome,' Keetso said. But she said tribal leadership has the ability to disregard the public. 'But our leadership should rather be protecting our land and our water,' Keetso said. Natasha Cortinovis is a master's student at the University of Arizona, and is part of a student newsroom led by The Arizona Republic. Coverage of the Society of Environmental Journalists conference is supported by Arizona State University's Cronkite School of Journalism, the University of Arizona and the Arizona Media Association. These stories are published open-source for other news outlets and organizations to share and republish, with credit and links to This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Why Navajo activists oppose a proposed hydrogen pipeline
