New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson and Attorney General Gary King today criticized
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for violating the federal Clean Air
Act by fast tracking a permit for the proposed Desert Rock coal fired-power
plant without completing the proper reviews on important air pollution issues.
Governor Richardson and Attorney General King assert in their letter
that EPA’s recent proposal to expedite the permitting decision for
the proposed plant without conducting required environmental analyses of
hazardous air pollutants could have severe negative impacts on air quality for
New Mexicans and others in the region. The proposed plant, under the
jurisdiction of the Navajo Nation, would be in northwest New Mexico.
"EPA is overlooking
air quality protections in federal law by fast tracking this permit,”
Governor Richardson said. “This is a grave mistake. The children of
northwestern New Mexico
should not have to be exposed to higher levels of mercury and lead in the air
they breathe. New Mexico
and the nation must be making advances toward new clean technologies for
electricity rather than continuing to build the dirty coal plants of
yesterday.”
Governor Richardson has
been vocal in his opposition to the proposed plant because of well-documented
detrimental impacts from coal fired power plants on human health, especially on
children.
“The Clean Air Act is very clear in spelling out what the EPA
must do to protect people from hazardous power plant emissions,” said
Attorney General King. “Because EPA listed coal-fired power plants as a
major source of hazardous air pollutants, we are on solid legal ground to
request that the EPA do what the law says.”
The EPA must do a
complete and thorough analysis before reaching any conclusions on this air
permit, the joint letter states. They also criticize EPA for
failing to abide by the Clean Air Act, which prohibits the construction of new
power plants without a prior EPA maximum achievable control technology
determination for the emission of hazardous air pollutants. In addition to
providing that determination, EPA is also required by law to identify a
procedure it will follow related to that process.
EPA, which has not made a MACT determination in this case, previously
issued a rule that sought to avoid that requirement for power plants
altogether. However, New Mexico
along with other states recently prevailed in overturning EPA’s attempted
roll back in a federal lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C.
Circuit.
The letter also expresses “serious concerns about the
environmental impacts of constructing Desert Rock in a region already impaired
by other large coal-fired power plants.”
Mercury contamination from Desert Rock poses great threats to the
health of New Mexico’s
children and to local waterways. Mercury, a known neurotoxin which contributes
to learning disabilities in children, also pollutes nearly every reservoir in New Mexico with high
levels of contamination.
Desert Rock is expected to emit substantial amounts of mercury,
arsenic, lead, dioxins, and other hazardous air pollutants, including
approximately 166 tons per year of hydrogen chloride and 13.3 tons per year of
hydrogen fluoride.
Governor Richardson in recent months directed New Mexico Environment
Secretary Ron Curry to meet with the Navajo Nation related to the state’s
issues with the plant.
The Environment
Department determined the proposed facility will adversely impact air quality,
exacerbate existing environmental problems and negatively impact scarce surface
and ground water resources. Also, the technology as proposed by Sithe Global
refuses to consider real technological advances in the area of combating global
climate change. The Environment Department has concerns that Sithe's investment
in plant planning is outdated without taking into account the needs of climate
change policy.
The estimated 12 million tons of carbon dioxide emitted each year from
the Desert Rock Energy Facility would increase New Mexico’s greenhouse gas emissions
by about 15 percent.
