EPA pulls the plug on Desert Rock Coal-Fired Power Plant

In a dramatic move yesterday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) withdrew the air quality permit it issued last summer for the Desert Rock coal-fired power plant, which is slated to be built on the Navajo Nation in the Four Corners region just southwest of Farmington, New Mexico.

Critics from the Navajo Nation who looked upon the power plant as a beneficial to the community accused the U.S. Government of breaking yet another treaty, while state officials attest that the proposed coal-fired burning plant would have, by itself,

Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley said that the decision was further proof that the U.S. government fails to uphold its agreements with the First Nation People.

“I have people dying every day because of poverty, alcoholism, drug abuse, domestic violence, gangs, and the U.S. Government is not there to adequately fund the direct service programs that cater to these needs,” he said.

New Mexico Environment Department Secretary Ron Curry said that, “Air emissions from Desert Rock would have singlehandedly undone our state’s climate change initiatives.”

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