EPA PROPOSAL FOR FOUR CORNERS POWER PLANT 

ANNOUNCEMENT OF PROPOSED BART DETERMINATION, OPEN HOUSE AND 

PUBLIC HEARING, AND REQUEST FOR PUBLIC COMMENT 

EPA-R09-OAR-2010-0683 

The Region 9 Office of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requests 

public comment on a Proposed Source Specific Federal Implementation Plan for Implementing 

Best Available Retrofit Technology for Four Corners Power Plant, located on the Navajo Nation. 

The Clean Air Act’s Regional Haze Rule requires the use of Best Available Retrofit Technology 

(BART) at older coal-fired power plants to reduce haze and improve visibility. 

 

On October 19, 2010, EPA proposed requiring the Four Corners Power Plant to meet a plantwide limit of 0.11 lb/MMBtu, representing an 80% reduction in emissions of nitrogen oxides 

(NOx) to achieve cleaner, healthier air while improving the visibility at sixteen of our most 

pristine national parks and wilderness areas. EPA’s proposal can be achieved by installing and 

operating selective catalytic reduction (SCR) on all five units. EPA is also proposing a 

particulate matter (PM) emission limit of 0.012 lb/MMBtu for the three smaller units that will 

require additional controls for fine particles, and is also requesting comment on whether BART 

can be met on the three smaller units by requiring an emission limit of 0.03 lb/MMBtu with a 

20% opacity limit. Reduction of fine particles may help reduce the visible secondary plume that 

is often emanating from these three units. For the two larger units at Four Corners Power Plant, 

EPA is proposing an emission limit of 0.015 lb/MMBtu, achievable with proper operation of the 

existing baghouses. 

All information submitted by the facility is available as part of the administrative record. The 

proposal, technical support document, and other supporting information are available on the EPA 

Region 9 website at http://www.epa.gov/region9/air/navajo/index.html#proposed. The 

administrative record may also be viewed in person, Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM to 

4:00 PM, at the EPA Region 9 address below. Due to building security procedures, please 

contact Anita Lee at (415) 972-3958 or by email at r9air_fcppbart@epa.gov to arrange a visit at 

least 24 hours in advance. 

EPA is holding open houses – for the purpose of providing additional information and informal 

discussion of our proposal, and public hearings – to accept oral comments into the record, as 

follows: 

Date: December 7, 2010 

Time: Open House: 3:00 – 5:00 pm 

 Public Hearing: 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm 

Location: Phil L. Thomas Performing Arts Center 

 Highway 64 West 

 Shiprock, New Mexico 87420 

Date: December 8, 2010 

Time: Open House: 3:00 – 5:00 pm 
 Public Hearing: 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm 

Location: San Juan College 

Henderson Fine Arts Bldg – Rooms 9006 & 9008 

 4601 College Blvd 

 Farmington, New Mexico 87402 

Date: December 9, 2010 

Time: Open House: 3:00 – 5:00 pm 

 Public Hearing: 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm 

Location: Double Tree Hotel 

Mesa Verde La Plata Room 

 501 Camino Del Rio 

 Durango, Colorado 81303 

Any person may provide written or oral comments, in English or Dine, and data pertaining to our 

proposal at the Public Hearing. English-Dine translation services will be provided at both the 

Open Houses and the Public Hearings in Shiprock and Farmington. We will not provide 

English-Dine Translation services in Durango unless we receive a request to do so by Friday 

November 18, 2010. 

If you require a reasonable accommodation, by Friday, November 18, 2010, please contact 

Terisa Williams, EPA Region 9 Reasonable Accommodations Coordinator, at (415) 972-3829, or 

Williams.Terisa@epa.gov. 

If you are unable to attend the public hearings, but wish to submit comments, you may submit 

comments by electronic mail or postal mail to the address listed below. All comments on the 

proposal must be received by email or postmarked on or before December 20, 2010. An 

extension of this comment period may be granted if a request for an extension adequately 

demonstrates that more time is required to give commenters a reasonable opportunity to prepare 

comments. Comments should address the proposal and facility, in particular: 

1. The available technologies to control PM or NOx; 

2. The cost of controls;

3. The energy, economic, and non-air quality impacts of controls; 

4. The existing controls at the facility;

5. The remaining useful life of the facility, and;

6. The degree of improvement in visibility which may reasonably anticipated to result from 

the use of such technology.

Any written comments must be received (if sent by e-mail) or postmarked (if sent by U.S. mail) 

on or before December 20, 2010 at the following addresses: 

E-mail: r9air_fcppbart@epa.gov 

 U.S. Mail: Anita Lee (AIR-3) 

 U.S. EPA Region 9 
 75 Hawthorne Street 

 San Francisco, CA 94105-3901 

All comments that are received will be included in the public docket without change and will be 

available to the public, including any personal information provided, unless the comment 

includes Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is 

restricted by statute. Information that you consider CBI or otherwise protected should be clearly 

identified as such and should not be submitted through e-mail. If you send e-mail directly to the 

EPA, your e-mail address will be automatically captured and included as part of the public 

comment. Please note that an e-mail or postal address must be provided with your comments if 

you wish to receive direct notification of EPA’s final decision regarding the permit and 

responses to comments submitted during the public comment period. 

EPA will consider all written and oral comments submitted during the public comment period 

before taking final action and will send notice of the final decision to each person who submitted 

comments and contact information during the public comment period or requested notice of the 

final decision. EPA will respond to all substantive comments in a document accompanying the 

final determination and will make the Public Hearing proceedings available to the public. 

If you have questions, please contact Anita Lee at (415) 972-3958 or email at 

r9air_fcppbart@epa.gov. 

Please bring the foregoing notice to the attention of all persons who would be interested in this 

matter.