The Four Corners Power Plant burns coal to produce electricity using outdated and ineffective pollution control technology. (Photo courtesy of Ecoflight.)

Earthjustice intervened in two California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) proceedings on behalf of the Sierra Club, challenging actions taken by Southern California Edison (SCE) to extend the operating life of two highly polluting coal burning electrical generators in New Mexico. The motion filed says the improvements made prior to the announcement of the sale of the power units violates a California’s greenhouse gas law, SB 1368.

SCE owns a 48 percent share of the two largest coal-fired units at the Four Corners Power Plant in northwestern New Mexico. The nearly 50-year old plant burns coal to produce electricity using outdated and ineffective pollution control technology. The Environmental Protection Agency lists the plant as the nation’s largest source of health-threatening nitrogen oxide pollution. Under California greenhouse gas regulations implementing SB 1368, SCE must divest its interest in the facilities because of the high volumes of air pollution they emit.

SCE is proposing to sell its share of the plant to one of the other co-owners, Arizona Public Service Company (APS), by 2012 for $294 million, but it must first gain approval for the sale from the CPUC. In November, SCE filed its application for CPUC approval of the sale.

SB 1368 further prohibits California utilities from making new long-term commitments to generating facilities that do not meet legal emissions performance standards. The intervention asks the CPUC to closely examine whether SCE made illegal investments in the coal burning units prior to putting them on the market. SCE is also seeking CPUC permission to pass on the cost of the modifications to its customers—a proposal that is also likely illegal under SB 1368.

This case is part of the ongoing campaign by Earthjustice and the Sierra Club to fight pollution from the Four Corners Power Plant and promote a clean energy future for the Navajo Nation. In collaboration with indigenous environmental justice groups and conservation groups, Earthjustice and the Sierra Club are working to achieve a just transition away from coal-fired generation to investment in renewable energy opportunities.