WildEarth Guardians

Monday, October 20, 2008
San Juan County, New Mexico Under Siege by Smog

Public Health at Risk as Federal Health Standards Violated: Future of Desert Rock Power Plant in Question
Contact: WildEarth Guardians

SAN JUAN COUNTY, N.M. - Smog levels in San Juan County broke federal health standards for ozone air pollution last week, putting the health of children, seniors, and active adults at serious risk.

"The Four Corners Region is in the midst of a health crisis," said Jeremy Nichols, Climate and Energy Program Director for WildEarth Guardians. "Ozone air pollution is adversely affecting children and families in San Juan County and the surrounding region-there needs to be relief."

Ozone is the key ingredient of smog. It's a corrosive gas that forms when air pollution from smokestacks, oil and gas operations, and tailpipes reacts with sunlight. It is linked to a number of adverse health effects. Most recently, a 2007 study in San Juan County by the New Mexico Department of Health found that increasing ozone levels increased the number of asthma-related hospital visits.

Federal health standards limit ozone to no more than 75 parts per billion (or 0.075 parts per million) over an eight-hour period to safeguard public health. These standards are violated when the three-year average of the fourth highest ozone readings is higher than 75 parts per billion.

Based on monitoring data from the State of New Mexico, the fourth highest ozone reading for 2008 reached 75 parts per billion on October 17, 2008 at the Navajo Lake monitor in San Juan County. In both 2006 and 2007, the fourth highest readings at the Navajo Lake monitor measured 79 parts per billion. That puts the average of the fourth highest readings for 2006-2008 at 77 parts per billion, in violation of federal health standards.

To safeguard public health, the violation will require the most substantial cuts in ozone forming pollution ever called for in the Four Corners region. These cuts will likely come from the region's coal burning power plants (including Four Corners Power Plant and San Juan Generating Station), in addition to the region's oil and gas wells, natural gas processing plants, and oil refineries. These cuts will help keep children, seniors, and active adults safe.

The violation also calls into question the future of the proposed coal burning Desert Rock Power Plant. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 9 in San Francisco, has asserted that the proposed Desert Rock Power Plant would not contribute to a violation of ozone health standards, an assertion that is now contradicted by monitoring data.

"While this violation is a wakeup call, it's also an opportunity to develop a strong, lasting clean up plan," said Nichols. "We need to cut smog forming pollution more than ever before to keep us safe and healthy. We need to start by denying the permit for the Desert Rock Power Plant to be built."

More Details on San Juan County Violating Ozone Standards:

State of New Mexico ozone monitoring data can be accessed here. 2008 data from the Navajo Lake monitor can be accessed here . The data is presented as hourly readings, from which daily eight-hour averages were calculated.

According to data from the Navajo Lake monitor, the fourth highest ozone reading so far in 2008 is 77 parts per billion, which occurred on October 17, 2008. The highest reading so far in 2008 was 78 parts per billion, which occurred on June 13 and October 18, 2008.

Data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency shows that in 2006 and 2007, the fourth highest ozone readings at the Navajo Lake monitor were 79 parts per billion. That data can be accessed here.

A spreadsheet documenting the ozone levels in 2008 at the Navajo Lake monitor, and calculating the three year average of the fourth highest readings, is attached.

A 2007 study by the State of New Mexico Department of Health (Myers, et al) found increasing ozone was linked to increased hospital visits. That study can be downloaded here.

Under the Clean Air Act, the violation means that San Juan County, and likely neighboring Rio Arriba County in New Mexico, and La Plata and Montezuma counties in Colorado, will be designated as "dirty air" areas, or "nonattainment." Such a designation will trigger stringent clean air safeguards.