Energizing Native Lands: Many tribes moving forward with GT plans; one remains firmly against

In Washington this past week, the Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development awarded $3.7 million to tribes that are developing renewable energy resources for their communities. Over 60% of the money, $2.25 million, are for geothermal projects put forth by six tribes in California and South Dakota. However, also crossing this desk during the week was a press release from one California tribe that is in its 12th year attempting to stop GT development near their land.

We have previously reported on plans by Native American tribes in the West to develop geothermal resources on their lands. The Northwestern Band of Shoshone Tribe is developing its fifth facility, and others have received federal grants to explore the possibility. However, Northern California’s Pit River tribe, which is made up of eleven bands, found itself in court in the past month with the Mount Shasta Bioregional Ecology Center and Native Coalition for Medicine Lake Highlands Defense continuing its fight against two GT plants in the Medicine Lake area of California on leases help by Calpine Corp.

A decision on the latest round, which took place before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on March 10th in San Francisco, has not yet been handed down. In November 2006 the same Ninth Circuit panel of judges determined that the leases had been illegally renewed in the late nineties because BLM and the U.S. Forest Service had violated environmental and cultural preservation laws when they granted a 40-year extension on the leases to Calpine. However, when the case was sent back to the First U.S. District Court on remand to implement the decision, the trial judge ruled that the 1988 leases were still intact.

The Medicine Lake Highlands is about 30 miles northeast of Mount Shasta, which has been designated a Native American Traditional Cultural District. The plaintiffs claim that industrial energy development would desecrate and pollute the area and pose unacceptable risks to California’s largest fresh water aquifer.

If the plaintiffs prevail, Calpine will lose its six-square-mile lease holdings, for which it has proposed a 49-megawatt geothermal power plant with attendant well fields, pipelines and toxic emissions. A second power plant proposed by Calpine would spread over eight square miles in the heart of the Medicine Lake Caldera is being challenged by the plaintiffs in a separate lawsuit.

In the meantime, other tribes in California and South Dakota are on the receiving end of the latest government grants favoring geothermal development. Donald “Del” Laverdure, deputy assistant secretary of Indian Affairs, said that the money is going to two distinct sets of recipients: the Benton Paiute and Pyramid Lake Paiute tribes in California and the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California are getting first phase grants to explore geothermal power production potential on their lands.

In South Dakota, Cheyenne River Sioux, and Rosebud Sioux Tribes are developing resources not suited to power generation to use for heating. The Cedarville Rancheria tribe in California will look to their resource for both power and heat.

The Pyramid Lake Paiutes are getting the lion’s share of the GT funding, $750,000 grant, while the Washoe tribe will receive $350,000 to conduct seismic surveys. Each group believes their resource has the potential to deliver upwards of 100 MW of electricity, and the surveys are the beginning stages of proving this.

The Cedarville Rancheria will use their $300,000 grant to do seismic surveys on a resource with a potential for about 25 MW, but a portion will be used to heat buildings and greenhouses. The Benton Paiute tribe, whose reservation is adjacent to the Benton Hot Springs, is to receive $350,000 to explore their resource, but no estimate for power potential was given.

The South Dakota tribes, the Cheyenne River and Rosebud Sioux, will receive $350,000 and $150,000, respectively, and both are ready to drill for hot water. The Cheyenne River Sioux will develop the resource for greenhouses and fish farming, while the Rosebud Sioux will also be developing greenhouses and will add a health facility.

In all cases, the tribes see economic development of these renewable / sustainable resources as a positive step for their people and their land, and likely as not, they will be quite careful to protect the natural environment. If these tribes are successful, perhaps the Pit River tribe will take a second look at their adamant opposition to geothermal development and find a way to work with Calpine.