EPA releases Desert Rock public comments: No time line yet on final air permit for proposed power plant


By Lisa Meerts The Daily Times
Article Launched: 05/04/2007

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has compiled and released about 1,000 comments on the draft air permit for the proposed Desert Rock Power Plant, which would be located in Burnham on the Navajo Nation.

The majority of statements came from area residents, agencies and businesses, including the New Mexico Environment Department, BHP Billiton, Dooda Desert Rock, the Southern Ute and Ute Mountain Ute tribes and project owner Sithe Global. Many municipalities in Colorado sent letters, among them La Plata County and Cortez. Even the mayor of Aspen added her input.

Colleen McKaughan, associate director for the Air Quality Division of Region 9 EPA, said she had no idea how long it would take the agency to respond to all the comments. Until it accomplishes that task, it cannot move forward and issue a final air permit.

"We are still reviewing and replying to the comments. I cannot tell when it will be done," she said.

The air permit sets limits for emissions covered under the federal Clean Air Act, such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and particulate matter. The draft permit contains some of the strictest controls set for a coal-fired power plant in the U.S.

The proposed 1,500-megawatt Desert Rock Power Plant would be the third coal-fired power plant in San Juan County. It would cost $3 billion to build, permanently employ 400 people and employ as many as 1,000 during the four-year construction phase. The Diné Power Authority, a Navajo Nation enterprise, and Houston-based Sithe Global have partnered on the project, which could begin construction as early as next year.

Area residents expressed concern about pollution in their comments and asked the EPA to reconsider how it performed air modeling. They urged the EPA to memorialize a voluntary agreement from Sithe Global to invest in regional clean-up projects in a formal document. Some pushed the EPA to consider Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle technology.

Frank Maisano, a spokesman for Sithe Global, called a plethora of similar comments opposing the plant an administrative form of spam, or multiple e-mailing, and said they neglect to consider the benefits of the plant. It will set an example for other coal-fired power plants by being clean, he said, and it will allow the Navajo Nation to turn its coal into a real economic opportunity.


Lisa Meerts: lmeerts@daily-times.com

 

Reprinted as an historical reference document under the Fair Use doctrine of international copyright law. http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html