Brink of extinction
Coal complex linked with endangering native fish

SideStory: Clearing the air: EPA mandates upgrades to Four Corners Power Plant

The fight against coal-fired power has picked up two unusual allies – the Colorado pikeminnow and the razorback sucker. According to newly released documents, power plants and coal mining in the region have compromised the region’s rivers and imperiled the two native fish. Immediate action is required to slow their march toward extinction.

The states of Colorado and New Mexico and the region’s Indian tribes are partnering in an effort to recover the endangered fish in the San Juan River. The groups have committed to pursuing the recovery effort through 2023 with a mind to balancing habitat and water development on the river.

However, water use is not the only threat to the pikeminnow and razorback sucker. Mercury, selenium and other pollutants emitted by the region’s existing power plants have found their way into rivers and streams and are directly harming the fish. With a mind to future power generation, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service conducted an analysis to determine if the creation of the Desert Rock Power Plant – which by all indications is indefinitely on hold – would push the native species closer to extinction.

A group of conservation organizations recently obtained the draft “biological opinion” after filing a Freedom of Information Act request. The findings conclude that mercury and selenium from regional coal combustion are “likely to jeopardize the continued existence of the Colorado pikeminnow and razorback sucker.”

Based on the finding, San Juan Citizens Alliance, the Center for Biological Diversity and Diné CARE have gone on the offensive. This week, the groups filed a 60-day notice of intent to sue the U.S. Department of the Interior. The suit alleges that the federal government failed to conduct Endangered Species Act consultations prior to renewing an operating permit for the Navajo Coal Mine.

“The Department of the Interior cannot simply rubber-stamp the same lethal coal development that its own science says is causing fish extinctions,” said Taylor McKinnon with the Center for Biological Diversity. “At stake are two species of fish, millions of people’s drinking water, and one of the West’s loveliest rivers.”

The impacts go well beyond the Navajo Mine and the Desert Rock proposal, according to Mike Eisenfeld, of San Juan Citizens Alliance. Coal from the Navajo Mine is currently burned in the Four Corners Power Plant, one of the nation’s biggest polluters.

“This is solid evidence that the San Juan River watershed and the continued viability of native species have been severely impaired in the San Juan River because of coal and other energy development,” said Eisenfeld. “Recovery of this river and ecosystem is imperative. Downstream communities rely on San Juan River water, and the agencies must take action to reduce and eliminate the impacts from industrial pollution.”

When the Environmental Protection Agency withdrew its air-pollution permit for the Desert Rock Energy Project in 2009, it cited the absence of an Endangered Species Act study among its concerns. Given this fact, the revelation of the Fish and Wildlife’s “jeopardy” determination may be a fatal blow for the proposed power plant. Like the Four Corners Power Plant, Desert Rock would have burned coal from the Navajo Mine.

“The Department of the Interior’s decision to renew operations at the Navajo Mine without consulting with the Fish and Wildlife Service and addressing the findings of the Desert Rock biological opinion violates the Endangered Species Act,” said Brad Bartlett, the attorney with the Energy Minerals Law Center who is bringing the suit.

Curiously, Desert Rock disputed that the new plant would cause any adverse impacts when the Fish and Wildlife Service began its analysis. At that time, Frank Maisano, spokesman for Desert Rock, claimed that the plant had actually initiated the study and would emit only a trace amount of mercury.

“We’re talking about so little mercury that we’re not even going to scratch the surface,” Maisano said. “We’re reducing those emissions up to 90 percent. That’s negligible compared to what the other plants are already putting out there.”

For once, Maisano and Eisenfeld may be on the same page – the Four Corners existing power plants have fouled the nest. “The overall issue is that the existing coal complex has already created a toxic legacy in the Four Corners,” Eisenfeld said. “The biological opinion confirms that. This is an indication that the San Juan River is totally messed up. This news should resonate throughout the region.” •