Current work in wildlife, rivers, public lands, and climate

Monday, February 14, 2011
Four Corners Plan Falls 75% Short of Clean Air

WildEarth Guardians Calls for a Complete Transition Away from Coal at the Nation’s Largest Source of Air Pollution
Contact: Jeremy Nichols (303) 573-4898 x 1303

Denver, CO—WildEarthGuardians today cautioned that a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposalreleased late last Friday to shut down only the smallest portions of the coal-firedFour Corners Power Plant in northwestern New Mexico will continue to leave theregion vulnerable to dangerous levels of air pollution.

“This is a great first step forward, but instead ofinvesting in cleaner energy, the EPA’s plan will end up spending millions onlyto make coal less dirty,” said Jeremy Nichols, Climate and Energy Program Directorfor WildEarth Guardians. “It’s ahalf-baked plan that will keep the Four Corners region cloaked in smog and fartheraway from clean energy solutions.”

The EPA’s proposal comes as concerns over air pollution fromFour Corners are coming to a head. The plant, which is primarily owned and operated by Arizona PublicService Co., is the nation’s largest source of air pollution, every year releasingtens of thousands of tons of toxic pollutants including mercury, smog-formingnitrogen oxides, haze-forming sulfur dioxide, and carbon dioxide. It also burdens the region with morethan $300 million in health costs, including 44 premature deaths, 66 heartattacks, and 800 asthma attacks (see Clean Air Task Force data here).

To boot, the plant is the largest contributor to hazepollution in National Parks in the country, marring vistas in Mesa Verde, GrandCanyon, and six other National Parks in the southwest.

Read WildEarth Guardians’ fact sheet on the Four CornersPower Plant here.

The EPA’s proposal would largely adopt a plan by ArizonaPublic Service Co. to keep the plant’s largest coal-fired boilersindefinitely. The plant consistsof five boilers: Unit 1 and 2 eachhave a capacity of 190 megawatts, Unit 3 has a capacity of 253 megawatts, andUnits 4 and 5 each have a capacity of 818 megawatts.

In essence, the EPA’s plan would keep nearly 75% of the FourCorners Power Plant burning coal.

Combined, Units 4 and 5 release more than 26,000 tons ofnitrogen oxide pollution (61% of the plant’s total)—as much as is released bymore than 1.3 million passenger vehicles (according to the EPA, a standard carreleases 38.2 pounds of nitrogen oxides). The Units also release more than10,000,000 tons of carbon dioxide, which is equivalent to deforesting 86,000acres of forest annually. Clickhere to see emissions by unit at the Four Corners Power Plant.

Although the EPA has proposed pollution control upgrades atUnits 4 and 5, even with new controls, the plant would continue to be one ofthe largest sources of air pollution in the region.

“Better pollution controls can’t and won’t change the factthat coal is the dirtiest source of energy,” said Nichols. “And with clean energy solutions at ourfingertips—including the jobs they provide—it just doesn’t make sense to keepthe Four Corners region dependent on coal.”

The EPA’s proposal kicks off a public comment period thatwill end on May 2, 2011. The EPAhas also scheduled public hearings for March 29 in Shiprock, NM, March 30 inFruitland, NM, March 30 in Farmington, NM, and March 31 in Durango, CO. More information on the EPA’s proposalcan be found here.

WildEarth Guardians will be calling on the EPA to set adeadline for the Four Corners Power Plant to fully transition away from coaland toward cleaner sources of energy.