U.S. Water News Online
PHOENIX -- Costly upgrades and a requirement to install pollution controls could prompt Southern California Edison to shut down a power plant near the Nevada-Arizona border by the end of 2005, officials said.
The Mohave Generating Station in Laughlin, Nev., could reopen in 2009 or 2010, but Southern California Edison officials estimate it would cost $1.1 billion to upgrade the 35-year-old plant and install pollution control equipment required under a 1999 consent decree with environmental groups.
Without the upgrades, the 1,580-megawatt plant cannot legally operate past 2005 when its initial 35-year operating permit expires.
Southern California Edison Chief Executive Officer Al Fohrer said the company would like to continue to operate the plant for another 20 years but is not willing to invest in the upgrades without a binding agreement for water and coal for the plant until at least 2026.
At issue is the 4,000 acre feet of groundwater per year that is required to operate the Black Mesa Coal Mine near Kayenta, Ariz., and transport the coal in a 273-mile slurry pipeline to the power plant.
The Hopi Tribe believes the pumping is depleting the Navajo aquifer and causing sacred springs and water sources to dry up.
The tribes are unwilling to allow the pumping of groundwater for mining beyond 2005 and has sued mine operator Peabody Energy Corp., alleging the company has shortchanged it on royalty payments.
The plant employs about 325 people and has an estimated economic impact of $365 million annually for Laughlin, 100 miles south of Las Vegas, and northwestern Arizona communities.
The Black Mesa Coal Mine employs 240 people and another 50 people work for the Black Mesa Pipeline, which caries the coal to the plant.
"Tragically, these two operations would cease if the plant closes," said Beth Sutton, a spokeswoman for Peabody.
Peabody's Kayenta Coal Mine, adjacent to the Black Mesa mine, would continue to produce coal for the Salt River Project-operated Navajo Generating Station near Page until 2011. The coal is shipped via rail.
Peabody is looking for new sources of water and is exploring the Coconino aquifer, which is much larger than the Navajo body and is beneath private land that could be acquired by the company.
The generating station is partially owned by SRP and provides the Phoenix metropolitan area with 320 megawatts of low-cost electricity, enough to light 100,000 homes.
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