One such project in Black Mesa, Arizona, is awaiting initial permits and has sparked fears over water use in an area already grappling with accessibility to it
Navajo Nation environmentalists are opposing a “self-described jet setter” and French millionaire’s plans for a massive hydropower project they claim will adversely affect the land, water, wildlife, plants and cultural resources of the largest land area held by Indigenous American peoples in the US.
The hydropower project in Black Mesa, Arizona, is awaiting approval by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Ferc) for preliminary permits and has incited fears over water use in an area already struggling with water accessibility issues.
“It’s really down to water, water, water. Water is the big thing,” said Adrian Herder of Tó Nizhóní Ání, a non-profit on the Navajo Reservation in north-east Arizona. “In their application, they mentioned Black Mesa groundwater and so that was already a concern for us, given that we already are struggling with water availability in our communities.”
The Navajo Nation sent a letter to Ferc opposing the application by Nature and People First in December 2022, though there has not yet been any approval or legislation to discuss it within the Navajo Nation Council.
Nature and People First is run and founded by Denis Payre, a French venture capitalist and entrepreneur. In 2006, the Washington Post reported Payre was one of several millionaires fleeing France to avoid its wealth tax, calling Payre a “self-described French jet-setter”.
The organization has secured support from one Navajo Nation chapter for the project, with Herder claiming the developer has used community meetings to portray its critics as opponents to progress and pit Navajos against one another.
Herder said the campaign in opposition to the Black Mesa Pumped Storage Project, #NoBMPSP, started in response to concerns over how many resources the project would use and the lack of consultation with local communities before the preliminary permit filings.
