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  Home Page » News » Tipton Asks Top Attorney To Address Pollution

Tipton asks top attorney to address pollution

Study: Four Corners Power Plant emits most nitrous oxide in U.S.

by Joe Hanel
Herald Denver Bureau DENVER - State Rep. Scott Tipton wants Colorado's attorney general to get involved in the controversy over Four Corners air quality.

Tipton, R-Cortez, sent a letter to John Suthers on Monday, asking Suthers to join him in writing to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar about pollution from the Four Corners Power Plant in New Mexico.

"Just as New Mexico would not accept toxic pollutants to be dumped by Colorado into the Rio Grande River, neither should Colorado allow avoidable pollutants to flow into our state from New Mexico," Tipton wrote.

A spokesman for Suthers said he didn't know when the attorney general would have a response.

"We are examining it now. We haven't taken a position on it," said Suthers' spokesman, Mike Saccone.

Tipton's letter singles out the Four Corners Power Plant, operated by Arizona Public Service Co.

A 2007 report from the Environmental Integrity Project, which touts itself as a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, said the Four Corners Power Plant had the worst nitrous-oxide emissions in the country. But the nearby San Juan Generating Station also ranked in the top 20 for nitrous-oxide pollution.

Tipton's letter does not mention the San Juan plant, but he said he intended it to cover all the power plants in the region.

In the letter, Tipton complains about the region's noticeably worse air quality.

"The (Four Corners plant's) dangerous emission levels of NOx have created a permanent haze above Mesa Verde and the surrounding areas," he wrote.

Tipton isn't asking Suthers to file a lawsuit, at least not yet.

"There is a potential for legal recourse. The attorney general is empowered to stand up for the state of Colorado," Tipton said in an interview.

Several environmental groups sued the EPA in 2007, claiming its regulation of the Four Corners Power Plant was too lenient. The groups argued their case before the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals last May, and a decision could be released at any time, said Matt Kenna, an attorney with the Western Environmental Law Center in Durango.

Tipton said he wants to see the results of that suit before he would consider going to the courts.

State Rep. Ellen Roberts said she and Sen. Jim Isgar have been working on the problem for a long time.

"I applaud (Tipton's) interest in the issue and certainly in the Southwest corner of Colorado. This situation has been something of concern for Senator Isgar and me," Roberts said.

Roberts, R-Durango, and Isgar, D-Hesperus, reached out to New Mexico lawmakers last fall to see if they could start cooperating. That effort is still in its early stages, she said.

Roberts and Isgar have worked with the Four Corners Air Quality Task Force to discuss solutions to the problem. However, Roberts said, she's frustrated that more progress hasn't been made on cleaning  the air, although experts say the region should see a gradual improvement over the next decade.

In an interview, Tipton said he was tired of studies.

"We're living the impact in Southwest Colorado. You don't need to run another study to tell me you can no longer see Shiprock," Tipton said.

The Four Corners Air Quality Task Force worked for two years on a report about all the pollution sources in the region. In addition to the New Mexico power plants, the group identified natural-gas drilling and automobiles as other sources of pollution.

The House is scheduled to vote today on new rules from the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, which include several provisions to prevent air pollution.

jhanel@durangoherald.com