Dive Brief:

• Federal regulators are requiring utilities in Arizona and New Mexico to spend $160 million upgrading pollution controls at the Four Corners Power Plant located on the Navajo Nation near Shiprock, New Mexico.
• The settlement, reached between the utilities and federal government, also requires $6.7 million to be spent on three health and environmental mitigation projects for tribal members; a $1.5 million civil penalty is also included in the deal.
• According to the EPA, harmful emissions from the plant will be reduced by approximately 5,540 tons annually.

Dive Insight:

Calling it “a significant achievement for air quality and the health of the people of the Navajo Nation,” EPA regulators have mandated more than $150 million in pollution controls in addition to a civil penalty for emissions from the coal-fired facility.

“The agreement will require stringent pollution controls as well as public health and environmental projects that will have lasting benefits for the Navajo people,” Assistant Attorney General John Cruden said in a statement. “It is also a reflection of how serious we are about addressing environmental justice issues in Indian country.”

Four Corners is operated by Arizona Public Service, which is also the primary owner of the facility. El Paso Electric, Public Service Co. of New Mexico, Salt River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District and Tucson Electric Power Co. are co-owners of the plant. Southern California Edison Co., also involved in the settlement, is a former co-owner of the plant.

EPA and the Department of Justice said the settlement resolves claims that the companies violated the New Source Review provisions of the federal Clean Air Act when they made modifications at Four Corners without obtaining required permits or installing and operating the best available air pollution control technology.

The pollution controls for NOx required by the settlement improve the plant's Selective Catalytic Reduction controls; current controls for SO2 will be upgraded to increase their efficiency. Federal officials expect the upgrades to reduce SO2 emissions by approximately 4,653 tons per year and NOx emissions by approximately 887 tons per year.

APS and the other current co-owners will also spend $2 million to establish a Health Care Project trust fund.