5. COAL: N.M. will appeal EPA permits for Navajo power plant (Greenwire, 08/01/2008)

Daniel Cusick, Greenwire reporter

New Mexico officials vowed yesterday to file an administrative appeal of federal air permits issued for a massive coal-fired power project in that state's Four Corners region.

Calling the U.S. EPA permits for the Desert Rock Energy Station "ill-advised," Gov. Bill Richardson (D) and state Attorney General Gary King (D) said they would seek an immediate review by the agency's Administrative Appeals Board in Washington.

"EPA is bending to the will of corporate, financial and misguided political interests that will pollute New Mexico's skies," Richardson said in a statement.

EPA's decision to permit a 1,500-megawatt coal plant near Farmington, in the state's northwest corner, he said, "ignores its obligations to protect the health of residents and the environment in New Mexico and the region."

The $3 billion project, sought by independent power producer Sithe Global Power LLC of Houston and Diné Power Authority, a subsidiary of the Navajo Nation, is expected to provide electricity to the growing population centers in New Mexico, Arizona and southern Nevada.

While the air permits are a critical step toward bringing the plant to fruition, its final go-ahead is dependent upon completion of a broader environmental impact statement, which is being completed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, since the plant site is located on Navajo Nation lands.

Richardson's appeal was not unexpected. In June, he wrote to EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson expressing concern that the agency was "fast-tracking" the facility's air permits without careful review of its air pollution impacts.

Executives of both Sithe Global and Diné Power Authority responded harshly to Richardson's claims, noting that regulators in EPA's Region 9 office in San Francisco received the plant's permit application in 2004, and that a decision on the permit was more than three years overdue.

In a July 11 letter to Richardson, executives said they were "extremely concerned and disappointed" by the governor's public statements about the project, which they argue are misleading. Contrary to opponents' assertions, project officials said, the Desert Rock Energy Station "will have the most stringent permit requirements of any coal-fired power plant in the country," and its owners "are committed to meeting those requirements."

Battle over coal-fired power

But as with most of the nation's recent coal-fired power proposals, controversy continues to swirl around whether such facilities are environmentally acceptable in a time of rising awareness about air and water quality and the risks associated with global warming.

While coal remains the country's most abundant fossil fuel, accounting for roughly half of all U.S. electricity generation, its continued use worries environmentalists and many scientists, who say its air emissions contribute to deteriorating air quality and a warming climate.

Lobbying pressure and litigation brought by groups such as the Sierra Club, Environmental Defense and the Natural Resources Defense Council have contributed to a marked slowdown in recent coal-fired power development, though industry officials maintain they must continue to look to coal to meet the nation's rising power demand.

In staking out a firm position on coal-fired power, Richardson is following a path set by Govs. Charlie Crist (R) of Florida, Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) of California and Kathleen Sebelius (D) of Kansas, all of whom have used their offices to quash new coal-fired power proposals.

Richardson and his appointees have argued that the Four Corners region cannot afford to build another coal-fired power plant, given that two large coal plants already are operating in the area -- the San Juan Generating Station and Four Corners Power Plant. Together, those plants emit an estimated 28 million tons of CO2 annually.

Ron Curry, New Mexico's environmental protection secretary, said yesterday the plant's estimated 10 million tons of annual carbon dioxide emissions will increase by one-third the region's total annual greenhouse gas emissions and set back New Mexico's broader efforts to combat air pollution.

"The Four Corners area is already burdened with the high levels of mercury contamination and smog and this facility will only worsen those problems," Curry said in a statement.

The proposal is also drawing scrutiny in Congress, where Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, called EPA's approval of the Desert Rock permit without CO2 controls a "shameful decision [that] rewards polluters, flouts the Clean Air Act and fails the American people."

But Pete Domenici, New Mexico's senior senator and ranking member Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said the project will boost northwest New Mexico's economy and provide an important new source of electricity in times of growing demand. "I am pleased the EPA has listened to the wishes of the Navajo Nation and issued the permit," Domenici said in a statment.

EPA officials maintain they performed a thorough review of all of the power plant's impacts, and that the permits include sufficient safeguards to protect public health and the environment.

Agency officials said they reviewed more than 1,000 public comments on the proposal before issuing yesterday's decision, resulting in a tightening of emission standards for ozone-forming nitrogen oxides and additional monitoring provisions for organic compounds, lead, sulfuric acid and hydrogen fluoride.

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