WildEarth Guardians

Thursday, July 10, 2014
Settlement Opens Door for Clean Energy at Colorado Coal-fired Power Plant

Tri-State Generation Agrees to Air Pollution Controls at Craig Plant
Contact: Jeremy Nichols (303) 437-7663

Denver—New hope for clean air was inked today in a settlement agreement filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit that committed Tri-State Generation and Transmission to installing state of the art air pollution controls to reduce haze pollution from the company’s 1,300 megawatt Craig coal-fired power plant in northwestern Colorado.

“We applaud Tri-State for acknowledging and supporting the need to ensure air pollution from the Craig coal-fired power plant is controlled,” said Jeremy Nichols, WildEarth Guardians’ Climate and Energy Program Director.  “For our health and environment here in Colorado and throughout the West, this is a big step forward and opens the door to real solutions for curtailing coal pollution.”

The agreement was reached after WildEarth Guardians and the National Parks Conservation Association filed suit in early 2013 against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over its approval of a Colorado plan meant to curtail haze pollution in several National Parks and Wilderness Areas.  The plan allowed the Craig Generating Station to forego installing up-to-date pollution controls required by the Clean Air Act.

Studies have found the Craig Generating Station causes and contributes to excessive haze pollution in Rocky Mountain National Park, the Mt. Zirkel Wilderness Area, and the Flat Tops Wilderness in western Colorado, marring these areas scenic vistas.  In Rocky Mountain National Park, visibility is 90% worse than natural background levels due to haze pollution.

The Craig Generating Station consists of three massive coal-fired boilers, two of which are nearly identical and were built in 1979 and 1980, and a third that was built later in the 1980’s.  The power plant is one of the largest sources of nitrogen oxide emissions in Colorado. 

Nitrogen oxides not only form haze, but also create particulate pollution and ground-level ozone (the key ingredient of smog), and damage human respiratory systems.

Colorado’s plan required stringent pollution controls on one of coal-fired boilers at the Craig Generation Station.  The agreement filed today ensures that the two oldest coal-fired boilers at the Craig Generating Station are both retrofitted with the most stringent nitrogen oxide emission controls by 2021.  Pollution controls for the third unit will be reassessed by 2018.

All told, the settlement will reduce nitrogen oxide pollution additional 2,500 tons annually, equal to taking 273,000 cars off the road (according to the EPA, an average passenger vehicles releases 18.2 pounds of nitrogen oxides annually). 

“Tri-State’s commitment to clean air is to be commended,” said Nichols.  “This compromise ensures greater protection for our iconic landscapes, more pollution cuts, and stronger protection for our clean air.”