A special session of the Navajo Nation Council focuses on one of the tribe’s most abundant natural resources — coal.
Lawmakers are scheduled to vote on two energy-related bills Wednesday. One would invest money in a company the tribe formed to purchase a coal mine in northwestern New Mexico. The other updates the tribe’s energy policy that includes support for clean coal technology.
Coal and the power plants it feeds make up a significant portion of the tribe’s general fund.
Navajo President Ben Shelly has said that lawmakers’ approval of the energy policy is a prerequisite for him supporting the purchase of the Navajo Mine from BHP Billiton.
The special session takes places in Window Rock and will be streamed live online.
