If proposed changes to the “Best Available Retrofit Technology for Navajo Generating Station” were accepted by the Environmental Protection Agency, fewer emissions would be released into the air. So says a team of experts at a recent Museum of Northern Arizona forum.
The Flagstaff museum hosted a lively discussion entitled the “Navajo Generating Station and the Energy Future of the Colorado Plateau.” Panelists included some of the stakeholders who formed the Technical Work Group (TWG, pronounced “twig”) that proposed an alternative to federal retrofit determinations for the Navajo Generating Station.
“The Museum of Northern Arizona is not taking a position on the topic tonight,” explained Robert Breunig, president and CEO of the museum on Nov. 20. “We know that everyone here is not in agreement.”
The alternative to the Environmental Protection Agency’s retrofit plan for the power plant is a TWG proposal that came after more than two years of meetings facilitated by retired Northern Arizona University environmental engineering professor William Auberle, who hosted the forum.
“There’s been 50 years of energy development on the Colorado Plateau, and the Navajo Generating Station is at the center,” said Auberle. “When water and energy was required for the growth of the southwestern cities, we looked to the Colorado Plateau for that water and energy. The 20th Century technologies used then are not the technologies for the future of the Colorado Plateau.”
Background
Under the Clean Air Act, Congress required that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) improve visibility in national parks and wilderness areas across the country. The state of Arizona is required to adopt Regional Haze plans, which will improve visibility over time. Older power plants are being evaluated for additional pollution controls. The EPA is developing a Federal Implementation Plan for the Navajo Generating Station located on the Navajo Reservation near Page. The EPA invited stakeholders to suggest additional alternatives to the plan called BART, Best Available Retrofit Technology for Navajo Generating Station.
Navajo Generating Station (NGS) is one of the largest sources of harmful nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions in the country. According to an EPA fact sheet, “NGS has already installed pollution control equipment to significantly reduce emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and particulate matter in order to protect visibility and improve air quality.” The BART plan proposes that the facility take comparable action to reduce NOx emissions, the last component of pollution affecting regional haze.
Forum
Auberle introduced Salt River Project Senior Director of Environmental Management Kelly Barr, who provided a timeline and overview of NGS.
Constructed in 1970, NGS contains three coal-fired units. It employs 520 people, 85 percent of whom are Navajo, and provides 90 percent of central Arizona’s power. NGS is co-owned in a unique partnership by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (24.3 percent), Salt River Project (21.7 percent), Los Angeles DWP (21.2 percent), Arizona Public Service (14 percent), Nevada Power (11.3 percent) and Tucson Electric Power (7.5 percent). According to an EPA fact sheet, “Los Angeles DWP and Nevada Power have stated their intentions to pull out of NPS. Together they own 32.5 percent of the plant, or almost a third of the facility, or almost one unit of the three-unit facility.”
The audience erupted when Barr showed a PowerPoint slide listing the participants of TWG, which included representatives from Central Arizona Water Conservation District, Environmental Defense Fund, Gila River Indian Community, Navajo Nation, Salt River Project, the Sierra Club (participated in initial meetings but withdrew), the U.S. Department of Interior/Bureau of Reclamation and Western Resource Advocates.
“Why wasn’t Hopi included?” called out one member of the audience. The question would trump most ensuing discussions.
“We had seven groups around the table in 2010. We could have had 100 stakeholders, but in the short time period, we couldn’t have that many to be productive,” answered Barr, who also added that the Hopi Tribe was on record as being neutral in respect to BART.
Barr went on to describe how potential ownership changes called for two alternative TWG proposals. In TWG Alternative A, if certain ownership changes occurred, one unit would be shut down or generation would be reduced by 2020 with selective catalytic reduction on two units by 2030. In TWG Alternative B (in all other circumstances), NOx reductions would be equivalent to the shutdown of one unit from 2020 to 2030 and annual plans would be submitted with potential future operating scenarios beginning in 2020. Both alternatives would be “better than BART” by producing fewer emissions than specified by BART.
Members of the audience heckled the next panelist, Stephen Etsitty, executive director of the Navajo Nation’s EPA when he stated that the Clean Air Act was working. “Whether you want to agree with me or not, emissions are going down,” Etsitty, who heads a staff of 85, said confidently.
“There are other benefits [in addition to visibility] that are integral to the agreement and a one-unit shut down,” said Bureau of Reclamation Lower Colorado Region, assistant regional director David Palumbo. Palumbo, who works with all dams on the lower Colorado River including the Hoover Dam, pointed to the health benefits of cleaner air. When asked if NGS could be converted from coal to natural gas, Palumbo said that the factors to consider would be the capital cost of the retrofit, getting a gas supply and the efficiency of burning gas at higher elevations.
“While this rule is about oxides of nitrogen and visibility at the Grand Canyon, we can reduce a whole suite of emissions that cause health problems,” explained Environmental Defense Fund General Counsel and Clean Air Program Manager Vickie Patton.
“One of our tasks is to reduce climate pollution to ensure civilizations are thriving four thousand years from now on the Colorado Plateau,” added the lead attorney for the Environmental Defense Fund, who acknowledged the Hopi Tribe as a sovereign nation.
“The Hopi does not have a voice,” said T.J. Namingha from the middle of the lecture hall. Namingha of Black Mesa Trust is a member of Bacari Village and voiced concerns about the lack of reclamation plans for Hopi coalmines.
The forum ended with many spirited questions and some oration from the audience. Next steps on the TWG alternatives include the final BART rule from the EPA, an Environmental Impact Statement, a coal supply agreement and resolution of ownership issues. The EPA is extending the public comment period to Jan. 6, 2014.
The energy forum was the first in a series sponsored by the Museum of Northern Arizona that explores the future of the Colorado Plateau’s forests, water resources, wildlife, climate, energy production and economy. FBN
By Stacey Wittig