According to the Farmington mayor’s office, the San Juan Generating Station will be demolished on August 24. (Photo courtesy of San Juan Citizens Alliance and EcoFlight/Creative Commons)
Officials serving on the Interim Commission on Radioactive and Hazardous Materials received an update last week on how the state plans to clean up the decommissioned San Juan Generating Station.
The Public Service Company of New Mexico, or PNM, has decommissioned the coal-fired plant by the end of 2022.
According to the Farmington mayor’s office, demolition is scheduled for August 24.
And the New Mexico Environment Department is taking steps to evaluate and resolve the ecological impact of decades of coal burning on water and air quality in the area.
But committee members were skeptical after hearing an update on the plan.
“This seems problematic,” said Sen. Antoinette Sedillo Lopez (D-Albuquerque), following a presentation by Justin Ball, head of the groundwater quality bureau at the Department of Environment.
Sedillo Lopez was concerned that the cleanup plan failed to take into account how the demolition could further contaminate the water and air quality in the area.
“I would encourage the department to look at this more holistically,” Sedillo Lopez said.
Ball is not an expert on New Mexico’s air quality laws, but he said its demolition is regulated.
“I would be very surprised if PNM has not gone through the proper steps to obtain a permit for the demolition they are proposing,” Ball said.
This discrepancy prompted several lawmakers on the committee to say they would like to see Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham clarify oversight responsibilities.
Cleaning of the site will not take place until a three-phase plan has been completed.
Site evaluation and environmental risk documentation are expected to begin sometime this month.
Then, at the end of the year, the department is scheduled to collect field samples and analyze data. A final cleanup plan should be presented next summer.
Ultimately, the financial responsibility for the clean-up lies with PNM, the former operator of the facility.
The utility company was asked to attend the committee meeting, but declined to participate.
This article first appeared on KUNM News. It is republished here with permission.
