UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY REGION IX 75 Hawthorne Street San Francisco, CA 94105·3901

OFFICE OF THE 

## JUN 3 0

## 2011
REGIONAL ADMINISTRATOR

The Honorable William Rhodes Governor ofthe Gila River Indian Community 525 West Gu u Ki P.O. Box 97 Sacaton, Arizona 85147

Dear Governor Rhodes:

Thank you for your letter ofMay 20, 2011 to Administrator Lisa P. Jackson requesting government-togovernment consultation to discuss the potential impacts to Indian Tribes ofan upcoming rulemaking on the Navajo Generating Station and for your letter ofFebruary 23, 2010 providing comments on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Advanced Notice ofProposed Rulemaking on NGS. Because, the EPA Region IX office is developing the Federal Implementation Plan to implement the Best Available RetrofitTechnologyrequirement ofthe Regional Haze Rule for NGS, AdministratorJackson has detennined that consultation should occur within the Region. My staffwill be working with your office to schedule a meeting with you and your advisors to initiate consultation, to occurin August 2011 in Phoenix, Arizona.
By letter dated November 13,2009,the Acting Regional Administrator ofRegion IX invited each Tribe in Arizona to engage in consultation on NGS. From the resulting discussions in 2009 and 2010 and from yourrecent letter, I understand that the Gila River Indian Community and other Federallyrecognized Indian Tribes may be affected by the EPA'simplementation ofBART for NGS. Forthis reason, and in accordance with the Federal trust obligation to Indian Tribes and the EPA's May 4,2011 consultation policy, consultation between Tribal leaders and senior management at the EPA is critical for the EPA to fully understand the unique impact this rulemaking may have on Tribes.

As suggested in your letter, my staffwill be notifying the other Indian Tribes in Arizona ofour upcoming rulemaking on NGS to provide another opportunity for government-to-govemment consultation to Tribes that may also be affected by our action. I understand that in your letter ofJune 21, 2011 to Ms. Colleen McKaughan, Associate Director for the Air Division at the EPA Region IX, you proposed a detailed consultation format comprised offour phases: initiation, scoping sessions, substantive sessions, and reconciliation prior to EPA action. Thank you for providing this outline. To facilitate efficient consultation with Tribes concerned aboutourrulemaking, my staffwill coordinate individual meetings for me with each interested Tribe during my visit to Phoenix in August. Atyour request, my staffwill also invite representatives from the Department ofInterior to participate in any or all ofourconsultation meetings.

We understand the importantrole NGS serves to the Central Arizona Project, and my staffis working to
morefully understand therelationship between CAP and the water settlement agreements that are unique to each Tribe in Arizona. To thatend, I am enclosing a spreadsheet thatrequests information on

Printed on Recycled Paperyour Tribe's water sources, as well as projected volume and cost estimates from 2009

- 2035 for each water source. This information will help us document and assess the potential impacts ofourrulemaking options on all Indian Tribes receiving water from CAP. We respectfully request to receive this information early in the consultation process and we are committed to consulting with all affected Tribes that request govemment-to-government consultation prior to ourproposed rulemaking.

I look forward to ourupcoming discussions as a continuation ofthe relationship between the GilaRiver Indian Community and the EPA. In the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact me at (415) 947­ 8702, orhave your staffcontact Ms. McKaughan at (520) 498-0118, orMr. Nate Lau, Associate Directorfor the Communities and Ecosystems Division, at (415) 972-3839.

Enclosure

cc: The Honorable Ken Salazar Secretary, United States Department ofInterior The Honorable Jon Kyl United States Senate The Honorable John McCain United States Senate The HonorableJeffFlake United States House ofRepresentatives TheHonorable Paul Gosar United States HouseofRepresentatives The Honorable Raul Grijalva United States House ofRepresentatives TheHonorable Ed Pastor United States House ofRepresentatives The Honorable David Schweikert United States House ofRepresentatives The HonorableTrentFranks United States House ofRepresentatives The Honorable Ben Quayle United States House ofRepresentatives The Honorable Gabrielle Giffords United States House ofRepresentatives