ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Federal regulators have signed off on a settlement that calls for shutting down part of a coal-fired power plant in northwestern New Mexico that serves more than 2 million customers in the Southwest.
The Environmental Protection Agency approved the settlement agreement Friday, clearing a major regulatory hurdle for curbing haze-causing pollution at the San Juan Generating Station.
The proposal was negotiated in 2013 by Republican Gov. Susana Martinez’s administration, the state’s largest electric utility and the Navajo Nation.
State regulators previously approved the plan, which calls for PNM to retire two units at the power plant by the end of December 2017. The utility must also install pollution-control equipment on the plant’s two remaining units.
State Environment Secretary Ryan Flynn calls the agreement a win for customers and the environment.
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