EPA meeting in N.M. on Four Corners Power Plant plan draws mixed response

Residents of the Navajo Nation appear to be no more in agreement than the rest of the region when it comes to the future of Four Corners Power Plant. Divergent opinions emerged Wednesday at a hearing hosted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to gather comments on the agency's proposal to require plant operator Arizona Public Service Co. to install costly pollution controls to clean up haze. Many who came to the plant's doorstep to speak at the hearing held at the Nenahnezad Chapter House pointed to the jobs and economic benefits the plant provides. More than 900 work at the coal-fired power plant and adjacent Navajo Mine. A majority of those employees are Navajo. But others said they were concerned about the visible haze and harmful pollutants the plant emits. Bruce Nez, San Juan chapter president, said the plant provides jobs and electricity. He downplayed the effects of pollution, pointing to his own experience. "I feel OK," he said. "I was raised here. I did a few triathlons. I'm OK." Others were not so sure the plant is benign. Milton Martinez, who lives near Haystack Mountain, north of Grants, said he used to be able to see Mount Taylor and other sacred mountains from Haystack. "That is no longer visible today," he said. "I think that has weakened our prayers." The 2,040-megawatt power plant provides electricity to 300,000 households throughout the Southwest, including cities such as Phoenix and Las Vegas...more