Request to clean up Four Corners timely

A collection of environmentally minded organizations led by the National Parks Conservation Association has petitioned two federal cabinet departments to declare northwest New Mexico's Four Corners Power Plant to be in violation of the Clean Air Act and thereby force it to be cleaned up. It is an effort that should be joined by area governments, greens and business interests. Whether driven by concern for nature, the local economy or sales-tax revenue, clean air is in all of our interests. The petitioners include Earthjustice, the Sierra Club, the San Juan Citizens Alliance, the Center for Biological Diversity, Dooda Desert Rock, Diné CARE, WildEarth Guardians and the Grand Canyon Trust. They should be joined, however, by anyone with a concern for Southwest Colorado's economic health. This is not only an environmental issue. The petition was directed at the Department of Interior, which oversees the National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management, and the Department of Agriculture, which includes the Forest Service. Together, those agencies are responsible for most of America's public lands. The focus of the request was on protecting the national parks, forests and monuments affected by pollution from the Four Corners plant. The petitioners say records kept by the plant's operator, Arizona Public Service, show the Four Corners plant - one of the largest coal-fired plants in the country - is also the largest source of air pollution in New Mexico...read more