Hourly Update

Measuring pollution improvement at canyon to take years

PHOENIX - Scientists at the Grand Canyon say they'll spend the next several years measuring air quality to see if the closure of an aging coal-fired power plant improves the views. The Mohave Generating Station near Laughlin, Nev., closed Dec. 31 rather than violate a court-ordered deadline to install an estimated $1.1 billion in pollution-control measures. The plant opened in 1971 and has been blamed for degrading the views in the western Grand Canyon. "More than any other park, people go there for the scenic views," said Mark Wenzler, director of the clean air program for the National Parks Conservation Association. "It's amazing how much those views are muted by the pollution." Carl Bowman, an air quality specialists for Grand Canyon National Park, says changing weather patterns are the reason it'll take so long to adequately measure the difference in pollution with the plant shutdown. "With a pollution contribution of that size, the weather conditions may accentuate or mask it. It'll take anywhere from 3-5 years to really see what the trend is." Under a 1999 consent decree won by environmental groups, the 1,580-megawatt plant was required to upgrade its pollution controls or close by Jan. 1, 2006. The groups argued that the plant, about 100 miles south of Las Vegas, repeatedly violated the Clean Air Act and contributed to the dirty haze. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, Mohave Generating Station has sent 240,000 tons of sulfur dioxide, 120,000 tons of nitrogen oxide and 60,000 tons of particulate matter into the region's air since the consent decree was signed. "It made a visible contribution to pollution," Bowman said. "It was the largest single source of sulfur dioxide." Bowman said the pollution was most severe closer to the plant in communities like Bullhead City and Kingman, Laughlin, and especially near Meadview. It was noticeably worse in the summer, he said. The last study on the plant's impact on the canyon was done in 1998. It showed that during the worst summertime pollution days, the plant contributed anywhere from 2.5 to 16 percent of the pollution near Meadview and the Canyon's west side. "The soot was not controlled," said Rob Smith, the director for the Sierra Club's southwest operations in Phoenix. "Nearby residents were finding soot on their laundry hung out to dry and in the air." "The Mohave plant was the last in the West without pollution controls and it stuck out like a sore thumb," Smith added. The Mohave Generating Station is chiefly owned by Southern California Edison, along with the Salt River Project, Nevada Power, and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. The plant provided Edison with 7 percent of its electricity. The utility said that customers would not be immediately affected because of other power sources. Besides the pollution control issue, the plant faced expiring coal and water contracts with the Navajo and Hopi tribes and with Peabody Coal Company. Edison said it planned to continue negotiations aimed at keeping the plant open but expected to close it for at least a few months. The environmental groups, which include The Sierra Club, Grand Canyon Trust and the National Parks Conservation Association, have said they would not agree to a deadline extension. A call seeking comment from Edison wasn't immediately returned Friday afternoon.