7he£‘nIl’1nieigh(—beanngexpn’icewhich(/1(1ifleS(he/niiicc/revrii.sliftingoneheart(it(1(line.August14,2012TheHonorableJaredBlumenfeld,RegionalAdministratorU.S.EnvironmentalProtectionAgency,RegionIX75HawthorneSt.SanFrancisco,CA.94105Re:EPA-R09-OAR-2012-0021,FRLDearMr.Blumenfeld:IamwritingbecauseofmyconcernovertherulingagainstChollaPowerPlant,JosephCity,AZ.,regarding“regionalhaze.”Ilearnedthatasmallgrouphasbroughtaboutcomplaintsofairqualityhere,buttheydonothaveanunderstandingoftheentirepicture.Ifpassed,thenortheastArizonacommunitiesoftheWhiteMountainareaofArizonawillnotrecovereconomicallyandwilllosemuchofthecountypopulationandrevenue.TheChollaPowerPlantisamajoremployersupplying250to499jobs.Additionally,theArizonaPublicServicefacilitygeneratesarevenueof$100.To$500.millionperyear.ThreatsofjoblossattheChollaPowerPlantcompoundaregionalcrisiscausedbythebankruptcyandannouncedSeptemberclosureofthepapermillthathasbeenamajoremployerintheareafor60years.OwnedbyCatalyst,aCanadiancorporation,its300employeeswillbeoutofjobsinamonthandahalf.Subsidiaryservicesdependentonbusinessfromthemillwillbelayingoffuptoanadditional100employees.Somehavereportedtheywillbeclosingentirely.Duetochangingcircumstances(deathofspouse,caringforadditionalfamilymembers,lay-offs)anumberofmyhard-workingfriendslosttheirhomesinthepastthreeyears.Withevenmoreunemploymenttocome,Iexpectmanymorehomeswillgointoforeclosureorsimplybeabandoned.Thecurrentunemploymentrateinthe108,000+populationofNavajoCountyispresently14.5%,.ThisdoesnotreflectthehundredstobelaidoffSeptember30.Inaddition,eventhebigboxstores(Walmart,Lowes,HomeDepot)andotherretailstoresinNavajoCountylayoffduringthewinterbecausetheseasonalvisitorsleaveLaborDay.U.S.Govt.statisticsshow28%ofNavajoCounty’shomesarerecreational.MostotherbusinessesinthethreecommunitieswhereIhaveworkedandhelpedwithcommunityactivitiesare“momandpop”typeofgoodsandservices.Justdealingwiththecertainlossof400jobsSeptember30meansthatmanyofthesebusinesseswillcloseandfamiliesmove.Whowillbelefthere?Willthereevenbechildrentoattendtheschools?Withhigherutilitiesandmoreofaburdenonhomeowners,Iworrythatmyretirementincomemaynotcutit,either.MuchofNavajoCountyisNavajoReservation,andthecounty’sincomeisthelowestofallArizonacounties.Thepercapitaincomeforthecountyis$11,609.,withnearly24%ofthefamilieshavingincomelessthanthepovertylevel.Themedianincomeforahouseholdis$28,569.,usuallywithbothadultsworking.Asareflectionoftheeconomicclimateinthearea,wehavethirteen“dollarstores”servingapopulationofabout34Kinjustfourcommunities.P.O.Box911/607W.Center,Taylor,Arizona85939jorusse113@yahoo.com/(928)536-2749Asanauthorandaspeaker,ItraveltocommunitiesandcitiesalloverArizona.EverywhereItravel,Iobserveemptystoresnowoutofbusiness,includinginourarea.WhenIretiredfromteachingin2005,Ipursuedasecondcareerinbuildingtrades,andwaslaidofftwiceinatwo-yearperiodbecauseofbusinessesgoingbellyup.It’snosecretthatthenationisstrugglingwithdebtandunemployment.IunderstandtheEPA’sconcernoverairquality.IknowthattheenergyprovidersinthisareahavebeenworkingtowardcomplianceandinvestingmuchtomeettheEPA’sstandards.EverytimeItraveltoPhoenixorTucson,Icomparehowblessedwearenottohavetowatchforairqualitywarningsontheoverpasses.Wecanseeformilesandenjoyredcliffs,tallevergreens,andruggedmountains.Perhapstheneedforcleaninguptheairrightawayshouldbefocusedinthecities(suchasPhoenix)wherepeoplesufferfromtheeffectsofpollutioninallmannersofhealthandlungissues.IamnotaskingyoutopardonChollaPowerPlantfromitsneedtocomply.ButIaskthatyougivetheplantareasonabletimelineandalsogiveadditionaltimeforpublichearingsneartheChollaPowerPlant.We,theresidentsofNavajoCounty,arenotresistanttochange.Butweareresistanttoextinction.Sincerely,

/2 ) (/(42&q’Russell,Author,speaker,NavajoCountyretirededucator