Congressional Hearing on Navajo Generating Station Misses Opportunity to Solve the Real Problems Impacting the Area’s People and Parks
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PRESS RELEASE
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| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | |
| Date: | May 24, 2011 |
| Contact: | Kevin Dahl, Arizona Program Manager, National Parks Conservation Association, kdahl@npca.org, 520.624.2014 or 520.603.6430 |
Congressional Hearing on Navajo Generating Station Misses Opportunity to Solve the Real Problems Impacting the Area’s People and Parks
Statement by NPCA Arizona Program Manager Kevin Dahl
“Today’s Congressional hearing on regulatory issues facing the Navajo Generating Station, held by Arizona representatives Trent Franks and Paul Gosar, missed an important opportunity to improve air quality and to preserve the iconic national parks in the region.
“The Navajo Generating Station has been allowed to continue to pollute the air in this region for years, impairing the once pristine views at 11 parks and wilderness areas, including such iconic locations as the Grand Canyon and Mesa Verde. This same pollution impairs the health and well-being of the people who visit and live near these areas, by exacerbating illnesses like asthma and other respiratory and heart ailments.
“Reps. Franks and Gosar should focus on more than just the cost to polluters of cleaning up the air. They should also work to protect the health and well-being of the region’s communities and our irreplaceable national parks from unsightly and unhealthy haze pollution.
“Pollution control costs are estimated to be less than half of what is purported by the utilities, with significantly perceptible visual benefits. In addition, estimates from the Office of Management and Budget indicate that every dollar spent on reducing air pollution through the Clean Air Act’s Regional Haze Rule returns up to $29 to the local economy. Congress should support the federal agencies charged with upholding the law and embrace the positive changes that stopping emissions from the Navajo Generating Station will have for the people who live here, the people who visit, and the majestic beauty of our national parks.”
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