Air quality
Request to clean up Four Corners timely
Article Last Updated; Thursday, February 18, 2010 12:00AM
A collection of environmentally minded organizations led by the National Parks Conservation Association has petitioned two federal cabinet departments to declare northwest New Mexico's Four Corners Power Plant to be in violation of the Clean Air Act and thereby force it to be cleaned up. It is an effort that should be joined by area governments, greens and business interests. Whether driven by concern for nature, the local economy or sales-tax revenue, clean air is in all of our interests.
The petitioners include Earthjustice, the Sierra Club, the San Juan Citizens Alliance, the Center for Biological Diversity, Dooda Desert Rock, Diné CARE, WildEarth Guardians and the Grand Canyon Trust. They should be joined, however, by anyone with a concern for Southwest Colorado's economic health. This is not only an environmental issue.
The petition was directed at the Department of Interior, which oversees the National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management, and the Department of Agriculture, which includes the Forest Service. Together, those agencies are responsible for most of America's public lands.
The focus of the request was on protecting the national parks, forests and monuments affected by pollution from the Four Corners plant. Those include Mesa Verde, the Grand Canyon, the San Juan National Forest, Utah's Canyonlands and Bryce Canyon, Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, any number of important cultural and archeological sites on tribal lands and the Weminuche Wilderness.
The petitioners say records kept by the plant's operator, Arizona Public Service, show the Four Corners plant - one of the largest coal-fired plants in the country - is also the largest source of air pollution in New Mexico. Each of the plant's five units burns more than 10 million tons of coal each year, and releases 1,300 tons of particulates, 12,000 tons of sulfur dioxide and 42,000 tons of nitrogen oxides.
Not included in the groups' announcement was the mercury already detected in area lakes and fish. Nor does it mention another good reason to clean up the power plant - its potential effect on the area's economy.
As the groups point out, the Four Corners plant is less than 200 miles from 16 national parks and wilderness areas. Those natural wonders, as well as man-made treasures such as those at Mesa Verde, together constitute the principal draw that supports Southwest Colorado's tourist industry. And people do not pay good money to come to Mesa Verde, to hike the San Juans or gaze out over the Grand Canyon so they can squint through a brown cloud. Too many of them can do that at home.
The petitioners report that the National Park Service says the Four Corners plant has the most effect on national park visibility of any coal-fired plant in the country. They also say modeling done by Arizona Public Service shows that Four Corners pollution cuts visibility by 25 times the level the EPA defines as “impairment."
Referring to the more than 40-years-old plant as “dirty" and “outdated," a spokeswoman for the National Parks Conservation Association correctly said, “It's time for the EPA to take action to protect our residents' health and our cultural and scenic treasures."
Doing so would also help Southwest Colorado's motels, shops and restaurants continue to prosper. And with that, local communities might better weather what may be enduring economic problems.
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AIR POLLUTION: Coalition petitions to curb haze from N.M. coal-burning power plant (02/17/2010)
Robin Bravender, E&E reporter
A coalition of environmental groups asked the Obama administration today to declare that the pollution from a coal-burning power plant in northwest New Mexico is violating federal law by fouling air over national parks and wilderness areas.
The groups petitioned the Interior and Agriculture departments, asking them to formally certify to U.S. EPA that poor visibility in 16 national parks and wilderness areas can be reasonably attributed to emissions from the Four Corners Power Plant.
The petitioners are the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), Earthjustice, the Sierra Club, the San Juan Citizens Alliance, the Center for Biological Diversity, Dooda Desert Rock, Diné CARE, WildEarth Guardians and the Grand Canyon Trust.
The 2,040-megawatt Navajo Nation power plant has long been the target of environmentalists. The Four Corners plant is one of the nation's largest industrial emitters of nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter and carbon dioxide.
"Emissions from this dirty, outdated coal plant have obscured priceless views in our national parks in a brown haze for years," said Stephanie Kodish, Clean Air Counsel for NPCA. "It's time for EPA to take action to protect our residents' health and our cultural and scenic treasures."
"The Four Corners power plant meets or exceeds all federal and state environmental regulations and we continue to seek solutions that achieve environmental goals while keeping the plant financially viable," said Damon Gross, a spokesman for Arizona Public Service Co, the plant's principal owner and operator.
The National Park Service has found that the Four Corners power plant has the greatest visibility impact on Class I national parks of any coal plant in the country, the groups said. Mesa Verde, Canyonlands and Arches National Parks are among those most affected by Four Corners' pollution, according to the environmental groups.
The environmental groups hope that a certification by the Interior and Agriculture Departments will prod EPA to require more stringent technologies to address visibility problems in the nearby parks and wilderness areas.