SANTA FE — New Mexico regulators began taking testimony Monday on a plan that calls for shutting down part of an aging coal-fired power plant that provides electricity to more than 2 million people in the Southwest. The plan would curb haze-causing pollution at the San Juan Generating Station, but some environmentalists argue it doesn’t do enough to wean the state’s largest utility off fossil fuels.
The hearing before the Public Regulation Commission began Monday with dozens of people braving frigid temperatures to protest. They talked about asthma, cancer and other health concerns throughout the region.
Inside the packed hearing room, the head of the nation’s largest American Indian reservation told regulators the plan was the best option to meet environmental mandates while avoiding unnecessary economic sacrifice, including job losses.
Navajo Nation President Ben Shelly ticked off statistics that included the tribe’s high unemployment rate and the percentage of Navajo families who are without electricity and running water. “I have seen the result of economic loss on the Navajo Nation, and I do not wish for Navajo communities or the region to become a further impoverished area because of the environmental rules.”
Other Navajos who traveled from northwestern New Mexico and parts of Arizona told regulators they were tired of the environmental effects of the plants and the mines. “They’re only talking about jobs and money,” Louise Benally of Black Lake, Ariz., said of Navajo leaders.
“Yes, that’s needed, but the environment is at stake. We need to think about it again. … We need to come to a resolution that’s going to help make things better.”
