Arizona Public Service Company operates and is the primary owner of the plant, situated on the Navajo Nation near Shiprock, New Mexico.
El Paso Electric Company, Public Service Company of New Mexico, Salt River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District and Tucson Electric Power Company are current co-owners of the plant and Southern California Edison is a former co-owner.
The settlement with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the US Department of Justice resolves claims that the companies violated the federal Clean Air Act.
It includes a $1.5m civil penalty. The companies are also required to spend $6.7m on three Navajo Nation projects, including a $3.2m project to replace or retrofit higher-polluting wood-burning or coal-burning appliances with cleaner-burning heating systems.
About $1.5m will be spent on weatherization projects for local homes to reduce energy use. An additional $2m will result in the establishment of a health care project trust fund for paying certain medical expenses for people living on the Navajo Nation near the plant.
The measures are expected to reduce harmful emissions by about 5,540 tons a year.
The Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division assistant attorney general John Cruden said: "The agreement will require stringent pollution controls as well as public health and environmental projects that will have lasting benefits for the Navajo people."
Image: The settlement is expected to reduce harmful emissions by about 5,540 tons a year. Photo: courtesy of dan/FreeDigitalPhotos.net.
