New EPA rule could extend life of Nevada coal-fired plant

A coal-burning power plant 50 miles north of Las Vegas has been granted new life by federal regulators one week after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid declared it a "dirty relic" that should be shut down.

Under new rules adopted this week by the Environmental Protection Agency, NV Energy will be required to upgrade emission controls at its Reid Gardner Generating Station but won't be forced into an expensive retrofit that could have shuttered the aging plant.

NV Energy spokeswoman Jennifer Schuricht said the utility is pleased with EPA's decision, which could help extend the life of what she called one of the lowest emitting coal-fired plants in the nation.

"This is going to be good for air quality and for our customers," Schuricht said.

EPA's decision comes despite criticism from environmentalists and members of the Moapa Band of Paiutes, whose reservation is next to the plant.

During an emotional EPA hearing at the reservation's community center in May, tribal members said pollution from the plant has caused a host of ailments that have sickened and killed residents of the tribe's ancestral land.

The final rules announced for the almost 50-year-old plant are designed to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide and fine particle air pollution that are blamed for regional haze.

EPA officials say the steps will improve visibility at five national parks and wilderness areas, including the Grand Canyon, Joshua Tree and Zion national parks. In December, the agency accepted most of Nevada's plan to meet the regional haze requirement of the federal Clean Air Act but decided to take a closer look at Reid Gardner.

EPA decided to let NV Energy install new nitrogen oxide burners at the plant instead of a far more expensive emissions technology known as selective catalytic reduction.

Utility officials have said it probably would make more financial sense to close down Reid Gardner than it would to put in a selective catalytic reduction system there.

Reid suggested just that during last week's National Clean Energy Summit in Las Vegas. He said the only solution at Reid Gardner is to "close the plant - not halfway. We want all the boilers shut off."

Reid Gardner is NV Energy's only coal facility in Southern Nevada, and Schuricht said it operates in an "environmentally responsible manner."

The plant is named for a former energy company employee unrelated to the senator.

Schuricht said Reid Gardner remains an important part of a NV Energy portfolio that largely features natural-gas-fired facilities, which are comparatively cheap to run right now, thanks to low fuel prices.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.