More studies - which will take months, at a minimum - are required, they say.
The two offices filed a joint motion Thursday to intervene in a federal lawsuit between proponents of the power plant and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Desert Rock developers are suing the EPA for delaying action on a Clean Air Act permit for the plant.
Desert Rock spokesman Frank Maisano said the lawsuit was filed because the EPA broke the law by not deciding on the permit within the required time. By law, the EPA must make a decision within 12 months of receiving a completed application. Desert Rock's application was deemed complete in May 2004.
"That's easy math - it's more than three years overdue at this point," Maisano said.
The EPA agreed to the July 31 deadline to decide on the permit as part of a settlement of the lawsuit, but the state entities decided to intervene because they believe the permit cannot be acted upon until other environmental reviews are completed.
Sithe Global Power, based in New York, and the Navajo Nation's Diné Power Authority propose to build the $2.5 billion, 1,500-megawatt, coal-fired power plant 30 miles southwest of Farmington on the Navajo Indian reservation.
In a news release, Attorney General Gary King said, "This permitting process is truly putting the cart before the horse. We believe there are a number of regulatory issues that need to be addressed by the EPA before it can make a decision on this permit."
The issues King's office raised include the plant's possible effects on fish and wildlife, carbon-dioxide pollution and compliance with federal standards for ozone pollution.
But Maisano said the intervention by state officials misses the point.
"Do they even realize what this lawsuit is about?" he asked.
"It's not about the substance of the permit; it's about why it's taking so long for them to respond to it. They're trying to delay this project again, and the only reason they're doing that is because they're against it. The only thing a delay does is hurt the Navajo nation. Shame on the New Mexico government for imposing its will on Navajo sovereignty."
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King's office, however, may not be Desert Rock's only concern. Mike Eisenfeld, the New Mexico energy coordinator for the San Juan Citizens Alliance, said a coalition of environmental groups will likely file a motion today to dismiss the lawsuit between Desert Rock and the EPA outright.
Spearheading the dismissal motion is the organization Earth Justice; others participating include the Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council, San Juan Citizens Alliance and Diné Care, a group founded by Navajo tribal members opposed to the power plant.
Eisenfeld said if the lawsuit is not dismissed, the groups will push for a change of venue. It is currently being heard in federal court in Texas, and the groups believe it should be moved to New Mexico or California, which is the home state of the EPA's Region 9, which oversees operations in New Mexico.
Desert Rock proponents claim all of the legal maneuverings are politically motivated. Today, Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley, Diné Power Authority General Manager Steven Begay and Desert Rock Energy Co. Executive Vice President Dirk Straussfeld will send a letter to New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and King protesting a June 19 letter from Richardson's office that accused the EPA of fast-tracking the permit process under pressure from Desert Rock.
Jeff Holmstead, the head of the environmental strategies group at Bracewell & Giuliani, the law firm that represents the Desert Rock project, said the EPA should ignore the pressure from the governor's office and stick to the July 31 deadline.
"They've obviously thought of every argument they can make, but it's all irrelevant," Holmstead said.
"I'm pretty confident nothing will come of this motion, but it satisfies a political need the governor must feel. The politics here are pretty interesting - there are certain laws that people are supposed to follow, and the fact that they feel passionately about these issues doesn't mean that the court shouldn't follow what the law says."
