And now:[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: 3-29-99 Navajo Hopi Observer EPA: Mohave plant causes Canyon haze By L. S. Scala The Observer The Environmental Protection Agency studied the air over the Grand Canyon for seven years. Meanwhile, environmentalists from the Grand Canyon Trust, the Sierra Club, and the National Parks Conservation Association sued the owners of the Mohave Generating Station in Laughlin, Nevada in 1998 for its contribution to the growing haze over the Grand Canyon. Released March 22, the long-awaited EPA study shows that while there are a number of sources contributing to polluted air in the Canyon, the Laughlin plant is the largest single source. According to the EPA news release, it will issue explanations of the rules for protecting visibility in national parks and wilderness areas in the Federal Register before decisions are made about "any future obligations of the Mohave Generating Station to reduce emissions of visibility-impairing pollutants." The EPA study, known as Project MOHAVE, was developed in cooperation with the National Park Service and Southern California Edison, the majority owner of the generating station at Laughlin. Project MOHAVE not only monitored the air, it also did modeling and data assessment work to come to its conclusions. The study was authorized in 1991 by the U.S. Congress. The Mohave electric generating station is a coal-fired plant about 75 miles southwest of the Grand Canyon. It was built in the late 1960s and has not changed the operations of its stacks since then. Although the plant has taken other measures to reduce emissions, it still puts up to 40,000 tons of sulfur dioxide (SO2) per year into the air. It is the second largest source of such emissions in the West, and the largest source is currently installing controls that will leave the Mohave plant as the leader. Coal for the plant comes from the Black Mesa mines and is carried to Nevada by a 273-mile slurry line. Royalties for both the coal and the water go to the Hopi and Navajo Tribes, representing a major share of their annual budgets. The EPA study indicates that pollution from Southern California is also carried by prevailing winds to the Grand Canyon and impacts visibility in the park. It concludes, however, that "because of the quantity of SO2 emitted from the Mohave Generating Station and its proximity to the Grand Canyon, no other single emissions source is likely to have as great an impact on visibility in the Park." The Clean Air Act gives responsibility to both the EPA and the states for pollution controls on facilities that impact the Grand Canyon and other parks and wilderness areas. There will be an opportunity for public comment on the rules when they are released by the EPA. This is called Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, and only after this process is complete will the EPA decide the next steps. A spokesperson for the Grand Canyon Trust said, "The findings of the Mohave report did not surprise us." Rick Moore, air quality program manager for the Trust, told the Associated Press that the study reflected what the conservation group thought all along. Sharon Galbreath of the Sierra Club added, "We are not waiting for this [EPA] process to finish. We are moving forward with our suit." All original content (C) copyright Verde Valley Newspapers, Inc..and may not be reprinted without permission. Navajo Hopi Observer Online is a service of Verde Valley Newspapers, Inc. Questions or comments should be addressed to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Navajo Hopi Observer Online is a proud publication of Western Newspapers inc.
