Guardians Fights to Protect Four Corners from Coal Pollution

Toxic Selenium, Mercury Threatens San Juan River and Endangered Species

Denver—In an opening brief filed late last Friday, WildEarth Guardians called on a federal court to order the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to limit toxic mercury and selenium pollution from the coal-fired Four Corners Power Plant in northwestern new Mexico to protect the San Juan River and the endangered fish that call it home.

“Coal contamination is putting endangered fish in the San Juan River at great risk and with them, an entire river that tens of thousands in the Four Corners region depend upon,” said Jeremy Nichols, Climate and Energy Program Director for WildEarth Guardians.  “It’s time for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to start safeguarding the health and well-being of this vital river system.”

At issue is the health of the San Juan River, which flows only five miles from the Four Corners Power Plant west of Farmington, New Mexico.  The River, the lifeblood of the Four Corners region, is a refuge for the Colorado pikeminnow and razorback sucker, which once thrived in the San Juan River and other Colorado River watershed streams.  Both fish have declined of water contamination, a sign that clean water throughout the region is at risk.  They are now protected under the Endangered Species Act and portions of the San Juan River are protected habitat for the fish. 

Studies now confirm that mercury and selenium releases in the San Juan River drainage stemming from coal burning, as well as other sources, are adversely affecting the Colorado pikeminnow and razorback sucker. 

A 2009 draft biological report from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service prepared in conjunction with the proposed Desert Rock coal-fired power plant (which has since been shelved) found that 64% of all Colorado pikeminnow in the River are experiencing reproductive impairment due to mercury pollution and that 40% of all razorback sucker and 15% of all pikeminnow are currently experiencing adverse effects from selenium pollution. 

The Service projected that by 2020, the 72% of all pikeminnow would experience reproductive impairment from mercury and that 84% of all sucker and 71% of all pikeminnow would experience adverse effects from selenium in the San Juan River.

In late 2012, Guardians filed suit challenging the EPA’s approval of new air pollution limits at the 2,040 megawatt Four Corners Power Plant.  The plant is the largest source of smog forming nitrogen oxide emissions in the United States and also releases more thousands of pounds of toxic contaminants from its smokestacks, including more than 450 pounds of mercury, a potent neurotoxin, and more than 3,000 pounds of selenium, a poisonous element that can cause defects in fish, birds, and other animals. 

Fish and Wildlife Service reports, as well as modeling prepared by WildEarth Guardians, shows that the bulk of this poisonous pollution ends up in the San Juan River. 

Under the EPA’s plan, the Four Corners Power Plant’s primary owner, Arizona Public Service Company, would be required to control nitrogen oxide and particulate matter emissions to reduce haze pollution in the region.  Although under the EPA’s plan, a portion of the Four Corners Power Plant is likely to be shuttered, the plan would allow 1,600 megawatts—or nearly 75% of the plant—to continue operating with no controls on mercury or selenium emissions.

“While the EPA’s clean air plan for the Four Corners Power Plant is an important step forward, the Agency has to take the next step to ensure that all pollution from this massive power plant is kept in check,” said Nichols.  “What’s poisonous to fish is poisonous to people, so it behooves the EPA to ensure that it is doing everything within its authority to curb coal contamination and restore the health of the San Juan River.” 

Guardians suit challenges the EPA’s plan as illegal under the Endangered Species Act.  Under the Act, federal agencies are required to ensure their actions do not push endangered species to extinction or adversely modify their critical habitat.  In adopting its plan, the EPA argued it was under no obligation to address the impacts of air pollution from the Four Corners Power Plant to endangered species.

The suit, which was filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit in Denver, will likely be ruled on in early 2014.


 

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