Hopi Tribe withdraws backing of project for energy exploration
The Hopi Tribe of Arizona withdrew from an energy exploration project on the reservation.

The tribe received a $5.5 million grant from the Department of Energy to determine whether it was feasible to store carbon on the reservation. But Chairman Le Roy Shingoitewa said the project posed too many concerns.

"They felt very uncomfortable with what the project entailed, liability, possible question marks as to what the impact would be to the tribe," Shingoitewa told the Associated Press.

The West Coast Carbon Regional Sequestration Partnership was going to drill one well to determine whether rock formations on the reservation are suitable for carbon capture and storage, a newly developing energy practice.

Get the Story:
Hopi Tribal Council disapproves drilling project (AP 9/20)