Many Native Americans Live Next to Power Plants

MOAPA, Nev. (AP) — Members of the Moapa Paiute tribe in Nevada are blaming a nearby a power plant for health woes on their reservation and say they want it shut down.

NV Energy maintains its Reid Gardner Generating Station near the Moapa Paiute River Indian Reservation is safe and has been upgraded with the newest clean emissions technologies.

Local, state and federal health agencies say they cannot conduct accurate health studies to verify the tribe's complaints because the sample size would be too small.

Among the nation's 564 diverse tribal entities, energy production is widely debated, with some questioning whether associated health and environmental risks have put tribal communities in harm's way.

Others have long embraced energy development as an economic opportunity for communities battling widespread unemployment.