ALBUQUERQUE — The state attorney general's office has filed a brief appealing an air permit for a planned coal-fired power plant on the Navajo Nation in northwestern New Mexico.
The state filed the brief Thursday with the Washington, D.C.-based Environmental Appeals Board, which can remand the permit if it agrees with any of New Mexico's arguments, the attorney general's office said in a news release.
Conservation and Navajo groups already have appealed the air permit issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for the 1,500-megawatt Desert Rock plant near Farmington.
Desert Rock is supported by Navajo President Joe Shirley Jr. and the Navajo Tribal Council.
The air permit issued July 31 was considered a major hurdle for the plant, although an environmental impact statement also must be approved before construction can begin.
Attorney General Gary King said in a statement that the board should send the air permit back to the EPA with an order to re-evaluate specific issues.
"The EPA has a legal obligation to give New Mexicans the full protections afforded to them under the Clean Air Act. The problem here is that EPA cut corners to get this permit out the door and ignored some real problems," King said.
The state made seven arguments that included:
—the EPA failed to follow the Endangered Species Act.
—the federal agency failed to properly analyze emissions of hazardous pollutants, such as mercury.
—the EPA improperly considered Desert Rock's expected carbon dioxide emissions.
Desert Rock spokesman Frank Maisano said: "It is disappointing to hear state leaders who know better, repeat the same bad facts and hope they will become true. It is the same old story of the governor and attorney general saying 'no' to Navajo jobs, Navajo revenue and Navajo sovereignty."
The state also has ignored that the plant will use advanced technologies that will reduce carbon emissions and water use when compared to a typical power plant, Maisano said.




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