Caption: Four Corners Power Plant
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) - The owners of a coal-fired power
plant on the
Navajo Nation reached a settlement Wednesday with
federal agencies over complaints they flouted rules for
permits and violated the
Clean Air Act, leading to expanded pollution control
upgrades that will cost millions of dollars.
The settlement filed in U.S. District Court in New Mexico
came after years of negotiation among federal officials, the
plant owners and environmentalists who sued in 2011. It
includes no admission of wrongdoing but resulted in a $1.5
million civil penalty.
The plant's operator, Arizona Public Service Co., said
upgrades made to the
Four Corners Power Plant in northwestern New Mexico were
part of routine maintenance and didn't require federal
permits. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency disagreed.
The EPA said a 2007 inspection revealed a lack of permits to
replace equipment that pulverizes coal or to upgrade parts
of the turbines, boilers and generators that could increase
emissions. The 1,540-MW plant supplies power to households
in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.
"Basically, it's a level-playing-field issue," Jared
Blumenfeld, administrator of the EPA's Pacific Southwest
Region in San Francisco, told The Associated Press. "If
you're building or renovating large power plants, you need
to get a permit."
The U.S. Department of Justice has filed complaints in more
than two dozen cases around the country since 1999 alleging
that coal-fired power plants violated the Clean Air Act. The
largest settlement came in 2007 with American Electric
Power (AEP,
NYSE: AEP) for power plants around the Midwest and
carried a $15 million civil penalty.
In some cases, companies failed for years to obtain permits
to retrofit power plants, said Bruce Gelber, deputy
assistant attorney general with the Justice Department's
Environment Division.
"They essentially had uncontrolled emissions of pretty
significant priority pollution," he said.
A key part of the settlement is a $2 million fund that will
pay for expenses related to respiratory health of Navajos,
Blumenfeld said. Tribal members living around the power
plant long have complained about pollution, saying it makes
them sick, but the issue has not been well-studied.
"That's one of the unanswered questions," he said. "It will
be one of the nation's first studies to look at the impact
to tribal members from the power plant, indoor air quality
and other respiratory impacts."
An additional $4.7 million goes to weatherizing homes and
replacing heating sources with more energy-efficient systems
in 750 Navajo residences. Those details still are being
worked out.
Federal officials estimate it will cost the plant's owners
$160 million for pollution controls beyond what the EPA
already mandated in an earlier regional haze rule.
Arizona Public Service Co. is the primary owner of the Four
Corners plant and runs it on behalf of Tucson Electric Power
Co., the Salt River Project, Public Service Co. of New
Mexico and El Paso Electric Co. The settlement also includes
Southern California Edison Co., which sold its shares in the
power plant to APS in late 2013.
The power plant's capacity diminished at the same time when
two of the five generating units were shuttered under the
EPA rule, and the owners committed to upgrade technology to
control nitrogen oxide emissions at the remaining two units
by 2018. The settlement requires deeper cuts in nitrogen
oxide emissions and factors in sulfur dioxide emissions.
Ann Becker, an APS vice president, said the owners decided
to settle in the best interest of the plant, employees and
the Navajo Nation but disputed allegations against them. The
owners argued in the 2011 lawsuit, which also will be
resolved through Wednesday's settlement, that it was too
late for a coalition of environmental groups to file a
complaint about pulverizers replaced in the 1980s. The
owners said there was no evidence upgrading other components
increased emissions.
"We have a long and strong history of environmental
stewardship and compliance," Becker said.
The public has 30 days to comment on the settlement. It
won't be final until it's approved by a judge.
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