WASHINGTON –Today, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) announced it will initiate a public scoping period and prepare a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for a permit for the No Name area within the existing Navajo Mine Lease 14-20-603-2505. Comments and information received during the scoping period will inform the scope and alternatives to be analyzed in the draft EIS. Comments are due by Feb. 4, 2026.
Navajo Nation, Farmington, New Mexico. Photo
courtesy of Navajo Transitional Energy Company.
“OSM’s responsibility is to ensure that permitting decisions for surface mining on Indian lands are transparent and grounded in sound environmental analysis,” said Lanny E. Erdos, Director, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement. “Through the public scoping process, we are inviting input that will help ensure any action taken respects the sovereignty of the Navajo people, their land, and considers the potential environmental and community impacts.”
Navajo Transitional Energy Company operates Navajo Mine, located in Navajo Nation, approximately 22 miles from Farmington, New Mexico. The Navajo Nation owns NTEC, the surface and mineral rights of the entire lease area, and the permit areas located within it. If approved, the permit boundary would encompass 11,526 acres and authorize surface mining and reclamation operations on 9,042 acres and the recovery of approximately 503 million tons of Navajo Nation coal. NTEC supplies coal to the Four Corners Power Plant, operated by Arizona Public Service.
OSM invites public input on environmental issues and requests relevant information, studies, and analyses to inform the scope of the environmental impact statement and the range of reasonable alternatives to be evaluated.
Comments – including personal identifying information – will be publicly available. Submit comments related to the project by any of the following methods:
- Email: [email protected]. Send emails with the subject line: ATTN: No Name SMCRA Permit EIS.
- Mail: ATTN: No Name SMCRA Permit EIS, C/O Roberta Martínez Hernández, OSM Western Regions 5, 7-11, PO Box 25065, Lakewood, CO 80225-0065.
Additionally, OSM will hold public scoping meetings on Jan. 29, 2026, from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. MST, at the Burnham Chapter House on the Navajo Nation.
For more information about this project, visit the project website at https://www.osmre.gov/laws-and-regulations/nepa/projects.
— OSM —
OSM carries out the requirements of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 in cooperation with states and Tribes. OSM’s objectives are to ensure that coal mining activities are conducted in a manner that protects citizens and the environment during mining, to ensure that the land is restored to beneficial use after mining, and to mitigate the effects of past mining by aggressively pursuing reclamation of abandoned coal mines.