UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
 

REGION IX
 

75 Hawthorne Street
 

San Francisco, CA 94105-3901
 

OFFICE OFTHE 

REGIONAL ADMINISTRATOR JUN 3 0 2011 

Dr. Ned Norris, Jr.
 

Chairman of the Tohono O'odham Nation
 

P.O. Box 837 

Sells, Arizona 85634 

Dear Chairman Norris: 

Thank you for your letter of March 1, 20 I0 providing information on the potential economic impact to 

the Tohono O'odham Nation of new air pollution controls at the Navajo Generating Station (NGS) in 

response to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to 

implement the Best Available Retrofit Technology requirement of the Regional Haze Rule on the Four 

Corners Power Plant and NGS. 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 20 I0, I understand that many Tribes in Arizona are concerned about the 

potential effects of our rulemaking on Tribal water settlement agreements. 

The EPA is currently conducting an economic analysis to inform our determination of the appropriate 

control technology as BART for NGS. Because of the potential impact of our rulemaking, 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 further government-to-government consultation prior to our proposed 

rulemaking for NGS. Consultation between the leaders of the Nation and senior management at the EPA 

is critical for the EPA to fully understand the unique impact this rulemaking may have on Tribes. 

Because the EPA Region IX is developing the Federal Implementation Plan to implement the BART 

requirement for NGS, Administrator Jackson has determined that consultation should occur within the 

region. 

If you wish to engage in government-to-government consultation on NGS, please have your staff contact 

Ms. Laura Mayo 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. The EPA has received requests for consultation from 

other Tribes in Arizona, and my goal is for initial consultation meetings with Tribes to occur during my 

visit to Phoenix in August. At your request, my staff will also invite representatives from the 

Department of Interior to participate in any or all of our consultation meetings. 

I am aware of the important role NGS serves to the Central Arizona Project, and my staff is working to 

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 spreadsheet that requests information on 

the Community's water sources, as well as projected volume and cost estimates from 2009 - 2035 for 

each water source. Participation is entirely voluntary and this information will help us document and 

assess the potential additional impacts of our rulemaking options on all Tribes receiving water from 

CAP. If you choose to engage in consultation with the EPA and elect to provide this information, I 

respectfully request to receive this information early in the consultation process. I am committed to 

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consulting with all affected Tribes that request government-to-government consultation prior to our 

proposed rulemaking. 

I look forward to meeting with you should you choose to engage in consultation on NGS. In the 

meantime, please do not hesitate to contact me at (415) 947-8702, or have your staff contact Ms. Colleen 

McKaughan, Associate Director for the Air Division, at (520) 498-0118, or Mr. Nate Lau, Associate 

Director for the Communities and Ecosystems Division, at (415) 972-3839. 

Sincerely, 

Enclosure