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Summer 1998 |
The following article is an excerpt taken from the Summer 1998 issue of the Colorado Plateau Advocate,
a publication of the GRAND CANYON TRUST.
Pollution from the Mohave plant distorts views from the rim of the Grand Canyon.
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The Mohave Generating Station in Laughlin, Nevada, continues to pollute the skies over Mohave Valley and the Grand Canyon.
But, hopefully, not for long.
If a recently filed Grand Canyon Trust and Sierra Club lawsuit is successful, the Mohave power plant will become the latest coal-fired plant in the Southwest to install pollution control equipment to dramatically cut its emissions.
Grand Canyon Trust members were alerted in February that the Trust had filed suit against the owners of the power plant for years of violating the Clean Air Act. The lawsuit contents that the emissions from the plant's 500-foot tall smokestack consistently exceed federally enforceable air quality limits.
The plumes of smoke and ash the plant spews out ha sMohave Valley residents reporting "chocolate skies" over their homes, and ash settling on their cards. When the wind carries the clouds of pollution to the Grand Canyon, its spectacular vistas are sullied.
A sexpected, Southern California Edison, the majority owner and operator of the Mohave Pllant, responded to our lawsuit in April with a motion to dismiss the case. In May, the Trust and Sierra Club quickly responded with motions of their own urging the judge to find that it is, and alwayds has been, Edison's responsibility to comply with the emission limits approved by the EPA as early as 1972. Unfortunately, Southern California Edison is showing no willingness to clean up the plant on its own initiative.
The Mohave Generating Station has the dubious distinction of being the last coal-fired plant in the southwest without pollution-control devices, known as scrubbers, that would remove sulfer dioxide from the plant's emissions. The Mohave station also has significantly undersized particle control devices. The Trust contends that Edison and the other plant owners are fully capable of allocating a small portion of their considerable assets toward cleaning up Mohave's emissions. Owners of the plant have combined assets of more than $32 billion. Edison alone will be receiving $9 billion from California ratepayers over the next five years as part of a deregulation settlement, and $8 billion of this money will be available for "corporate use". This means that Edison can use these dollars howver it sees fit. Cleaning up the Mohave would likely take a very small percentage of this money.
The Trust and the Sierra Club are continuing to pursue this lawsuit, however, Edison doesn't have to wait for the legal process to play out. It could make the decision right now to step forward and clean up Mohave. Grand Canyon Trust members, Sierra Club members and the general public are urged to write to John Bryson, Edison's Chief Executive Officer, at the address below, asking him to do the right thing, and clean-up the plant. Perhaps if Mr. Bryson hears enough voices, he'll see that his decision to allow Mohave to continue to foul the air over Grand Canyon and Mohave Valley is unacceptable.
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Mr. John Bryson Southern California Edison 2244 Walnut Grove Rosemead, CA 91771 Phone: (626) 302-2265 Fax: (626) 302-9935 |
In addition to sending a leter, visit the our web page at http://www.grandcanyontrust.org and send a free, automatic fax directly to John Bryson, asking him to clean up Mohave. Just hit the Action Alert button on our home page to quickly access this pre-written message. Feel free to personalize your message, using the instructions on the fax page.
-- Staff
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