The Navajo Nation says the Environmental Protection Agency is going too far in its attempt to regulate a coal-fired power plant on the reservation.

Stephen Etsitty, executive director of the Navajo Nation Environmental Protection Agency, testified at a House subcommittee hearing in Washington, D.C., yesterday. He said a proposed regulation threatens the future of the San Juan power plant, including jobs held by tribal members.

"An increase in the number of unemployed on the Navajo Nation caused by the closure of the San Juan plant or the San Juan mine would result in increased demands in social services provided by the Navajo Nation and other government agencies," Etsitty told lawmakers, Cronkite News Service reported.

No one from the EPA appeared at the hearing.

Get the Story:
Navajo official: EPA rules threaten jobs at power plant (Cronkite News Service 6/7)

Subcommittee Hearing:
EPA Enforcement Priorities and Practices (June 6, 2012)