EPA Air Permit Issued to Build Montana Power Station in Far East El Paso
March 26 2014 - 12:48PM
Business Wire
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued the greenhouse
gas (GHG) permit for El Paso Electric’s (EPE) Montana Power Station
in Far East El Paso, which will become effective 30 days from the
date of issuance unless it is appealed. EPA’s permit action follows
the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s decision in January
2014 to issue a separate permit for emissions other than GHG.
Issuance of the EPA permit at this time allows EPE to stay on track
to bring the first two units of the power station online by summer
of 2015, so that EPE can timely meet the growing needs of the
communities it serves.
In a statement issued yesterday in response to comments on the
GHG permit, EPA “take[s] notice that El Paso Electric Company at
its own initiative also undertook special efforts to reach
resolution with community members, including reaching an agreement
for ongoing community engagement through a citizen advisory panel.
… Although every situation is different, EPA has generally
recognized that community engagement efforts on the part of a
permit applicant are commendable. These efforts appear to have
proved beneficial in this case.”
Even so, EPA’s decision may be appealed by Sierra Club’s San
Francisco office as part of its national “Beyond Gas” campaign. The
contemplated timeline allows for any appeal of the permit, which
EPE expects would be resolved by late this summer. EPE will then
spend the next nine months constructing the first two units and
have them completed by the end of May 2015.
“This is a great step in validating EPE’s efforts to meet the
growing energy needs of our communities with cost-effective new
technologies, including clean-burning natural gas, which will help
expand our solar energy portfolio and serve to retain EPE’s
position as a national leader with one of the lowest carbon
footprints of any utility of our size in the U.S.,” said Tom
Shockley, EPE’s Chief Executive Officer. “EPA’s professionalism
throughout this extended process should be commended. We appreciate
the thoroughness of their review process and their diligence in
considering all issues raised by commenting parties. We also
appreciate our neighbors’ willingness to hear us out, and their
constructive participation in these public review processes.”
For more information regarding the EPE Air Permit, please visit
their website at:
http://yosemite.epa.gov/r6/Apermit.nsf/AirP#A.
El Paso Electric (NYSE:EE) is a regional electric utility
providing generation, transmission and distribution service to
approximately 394,000 retail and wholesale customers in a 10,000
square mile area of the Rio Grande valley in west Texas and
southern New Mexico. El Paso Electric has a net dependable
generating capability of 1,852 MW.
El Paso ElectricPublic Relations:Eddie Gutierrez,
915-543-5763eduardo.gutierrez@epelectric.comorInvestor
Relations:Steve Busser,
915-543-5983steve.busser@epelectric.comorLisa Budtke,
915-543-5947lisa.budtke@epelectric.com
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