Facts Not Critical to Sierra Club Approach

Earlier this week the Sierra Club announced it reached a legal settlement with PNM Resources. In what can only be accurately characterized as an extremely misleading press release, the Sierra Club suggested Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM), PNM Resources, and San Juan Coal Company (a subsidiary of BHP Billiton, Ltd.) must spend millions of dollars to stop ground and surface water contamination caused by toxic coal ash waste and other sources at the San Juan Coal Mine and San Juan Generating Station coal-fired power plant.
The problem with the press release is there is NO ground or surface water contamination downstream from the plant and coal mine that originates from coal ash or other sources at the plant or coal mine. In fact, the settlement agreement does not require any change in the way coal is mined or handled. It also does not require any change in how coal ash is managed at the plant or placed at the coal mine. Placement of coal ash at the mine is already required by the state as part of the mine reclamation procedures. Coal ash is not regulated as a hazardous, or “toxic,” waste. And the system the companies are installing is only a “capture” system. There is no requirement that any of the water captured in the system be treated in any respect.

Despite all the bluster of the radicals in the Sierra Club, the power plants are in compliance with federal and state permits and the plant in San Juan County undergoes regular, rigorous inspection by state and federal regulators. As a result of the latest $320 million environmental upgrade at San Juan which was completed in 2009, the San Juan Generating Station became an industry leader in mercury emissions control. It has achieved a 99 percent mercury removal rate based on EPA-required stack testing and exceeds the EPA’s recently implemented mercury removal standards. Additionally, PNM scrubs 100% of the flue gas from each of the four units in the four corners area and also uses state-of-the-art technology to remove 99 percent of the particulate matter (or “soot”) in the flue gas.

In completely mischaracterizing the nature of the settlement, it appears that pining for more donations is remains the primary objective of the Sierra Club. The release also said, “PNM ought to invest in creating energy from clean sources like solar panels, instead of continuing to expose our air, water and land to toxic pollution from coal.”
Always on the offensive, what the Sierra Club failed to mention is that under mandates passed during the Richardson administration, PNM already has significant investments in renewable energy programs. In fact, PNM entered the renewable arena long before renewable energy mandates existed.

Back in 2003, PNM agreed to purchase all the energy produced by the New Mexico Wind Energy Center, which at the time was the world’s third-largest wind facility. In 2011, the utility invested $95 million to add 22 megawatts of solar power to its system. And, PNM has the state’s largest solar distributed generation program. About 2,400 customers have installed solar systems, amounting to 15 megawatts of power. PNM provides credits to these customers as an incentive to invest in solar technology. The program more than doubled in 2011.

For New Mexico citizens served by PNM it is naïve to think the company could easily move away from fossil fuels, like coal. There is simply NO technology to store wind or solar power. A complete move to these much more expensive resources is virtually impossible.

It is unfortunate that the Sierra Club feels compelled to engage in misinforming the public regarding electrical power in New Mexico. In doing so it puts pressure on existing power sources, electricity prices, and the possibility of blackouts in this area. Electricity blackouts are not GREEN, they are dangerous to the health and welfare of New Mexico.

Facts Not Critical to Sierra Club Approach