The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency put its foot down Friday with an announcement that the coal-fired San Juan Generating Station near Farmington will have to invest in an estimated $750 million worth of pollution controls.

“We feel like the decision is a very important one for the people of the Four Corners region,” said Mike Eisenfeld, New Mexico energy issues coordinator for the San Juan Citizens Alliance. “I think it’s a clear affirmation of the importance of the Clean Air Act and the steps needed to address the dirty legacies of coal plants.”

In a news release Friday, Public Service Company of New Mexico, the utility that owns the plant, said it will appeal the decision.

The EPA’s move is part of a long-standing push to clean up haze in the Four Corners, which is home to two coal-fired power plants, the San Juan Generating Station and Four Corners Power Plant, and bring them into compliance with the Good Neighbor provision of the federal Clean Air Act. The plants are blamed for polluting the air and scenic views for 280 million visitors to the region each year and causing chronic health issues for residents.

The retrofits required over the next two years by Friday’s ruling are expected to cost more than $750 million. While the EPA stood by its original December order for the retrofit, it did give the utility five years instead of three to get the improvements in place.

Public Service Company of New Mexico has said that the cost of such retrofits would be passed on to customers.

Company executives believe the federal haze rules can be met with a technology different from that dictated by the EPA at a fraction of the cost – $77 million.

“The EPA plan adds unnecessary costs to one of our lowest-cost sources of reliable power,” said Pat Themig, the company’s vice president of generation. “If it stands, it will lead to significantly higher future electric rates for the 2 million customers who rely on the plant for reasonably priced power.”

Themig said the EPA’s proposal is flawed and overestimates the results that could be achieved with the imposed changes.

Eisenfeld disagreed and applauded the EPA’s assessment of the two proposals. He said the cheaper proposal supported by the utility and the state of New Mexico was “unacceptable.”

“It would not have done what is needed to improve public health and visibility throughout the region,” Eisenfeld said.

Eisenfeld said the utility needs to “step back and look at the future of coal in this region.”

“The time is now to transition away from these old facilities that will be difficult and expensive to retrofit,” he said. “This is only one of many issues facing the future of coal-fired electricity,”

In other business, the EPA recently proposed standards to reduce air pollution from gas and oil drilling operations as part of its ongoing efforts to protect air quality.

The proposal, issued in response to a court order stemming from environmental groups’ charges that the agency failed to keep its rules updated, aims to reduce pollution from the extraction activities without jeopardizing the country’s mission to expand energy production, a news release said.

The technologies proposed would reduce the release of smog-forming compounds and methane, which is 20 times more potent as greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.

“Reducing these emissions will help cut toxic pollution that can increase cancer risks and smog that can cause asthma attacks and premature death – all while giving these operators additional product to bring to market,” said Gina McCarthy, assistant administrator for the EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation.

Implementing the standards would cost the industry an estimated $754 million annually. But the EPA says it would leverage operators’ ability to capture and sell the gas that otherwise escapes into the air and environment during production, covering the cost and more.

The EPA argues the proposed changes, which include requirements for storage tanks and other equipment, are “highly cost-effective.”

Some lawmakers, including U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo., have lauded the proposal, saying rapid expansion of the gas industry in recent months has contributed to regional air quality problems and growing health concerns.

“Small Town America shouldn’t have Los Angeles-quality air,” Polis said in a news release. “But in areas where gas drilling is booming, that’s exactly the case.”

Public hearings about the matter will be held in the coming months in Dallas, Denver and Pittsburgh. The EPA must take final action on the proposal by Feb. 28.

hscofield@durangoherald.com