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

OFFICE OFTHE. REGIONAL ADMINISTRATOR 

## JUN 3 U

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Dr. Clinton M. Pattea President ofthe Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation P.O. Box 17779 Fountain Hills, Arizona 85269

Dear President Pattea:
Thank you for your letter ofFebruary 26, 2010 expressing concern overthe potential economic impact to the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation ofnew air pollution controls at the Navajo Oenerating Station in response to EPA's AdvancedNotice ofProposed Rulemaking to implement the Best Available Retrofit Technology requirement ofthe Regional Haze Rule on the Four Corners Power Plant and NOS. During the public commentperiod for the ANPR, the Acting Regional Administrator ofEPA Region IX senta letter dated November 13,2009to potentially affected Tribes requesting comment on the ANPR and inviting government-to-government consultation onNOS. From the resulting discussions in 2009 and 2010, Iunderstand that many Tribes in Arizona are concerned about the potential effects ofour rulemaking on Tribal water settlementagreements.
EPA is currently conducting an economic analysis to inform our determination ofthe appropriate control technology as BARTfor NOS. Because ofthe potential impact ofourrulemaking onthe Nation, in accordance with the Federal trust obligation to Indian Tribes and EPA's May 4, 2011 consultation policy, I invite the Nation to engage in government-to-govemment consultationpriorto ourproposed rulemaking for NOS. Consultation between the leaders ofthe Nation and senior management at EPA is critical for EPA to fully understand the unique impactthis rulemaking may have on Tribes.

BecauseEPA Region IX is developing the Federal Implementation Planto implement the BART requirement for NOS, Administrator Jackson has determined that I am the most senior EPA official with direct oversight and knowledge ofthis rulemaking. Ifyou wish to engage in consultation with EPA, my staffwill be work with your office to schedule a meeting for me with you and your advisors to initiate consultation. EPA has received other consultation requests from otherTribes, and my goal is for initial consultation meetings with these Tribes, as well as other tribes interested in consultation, to occurduring my visit to Phoenix in August. Becausethe EPA Region IX office is developing the Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) to implement the BARTrequirement for NOS, Administrator Jackson has determined that consultation should occurwithin the region.
Ifyou wish to engage in government-to-government consultation onNOS, please have your staffcontact Ms. LauraMayo at (415) 947-3561. Ms. Mayo will work with your office to schedule a meeting for me with you and your advisors to initiate consultation. TheEPA has received requests for consultation from otherTribes in Arizona, and my goal is for initial consultation meetings with Tribes to occur during my visit to Phoenix in July. At your request, my staffwill also invite representatives from the Department of Interiorto participate in any or all ofour consultation meetings.

Prinredon RecycledPaperI understand from your letter that in 2004, the Nation became eligible for an allocation ofFederal hydroelectric power, and that to use this allocation, the Nation chose Salt River Project, the operator and coowner ofNOS, to accept this allocation and pass the benefit ofthis allocation to the Nation. I look forward to receiving more information from you to detennine whether our rulemaking will affectthe Nation's electric powerallocation. I am also aware ofthe important role NOS serves to the Central Arizona Project, and my staffis workingto more fully understand the relationship between CAP and the water settlement agreements that are unique to each Tribe in Arizona. To that end, I am enclosing a spreadsheetthat requests infonnation on the Nation's water sources, as well as projected volume and cost estimates from 2009

- 2035 for each water source. IftheNation currently or in the future expects to receive CAP water, this infonnation will help us document and assess the potential additional impacts of
ourrulemaking options on all Tribes receiving water from CAP. We respectfully request to receive this infonnation early in the consultation process and we are committed to consulting with all affected Tribes that request government-to-government consultation prior to ourproposed rulemaking.

1look forward to meeting with you should you choose to engage in consultation on NOS. In the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact me at (415) 947-8702, orhave your staffcontactMs. Colleen McKaughan, Associate Directorfor the Air Division, at (520) 498-0118, orMr. NateLau, Associate Director for the Communities and Ecosystems Division, at (415) 972-3839.

Enclosure