San Juan Generating Station cleanup set to begin in 2025

The San Juan Generating station is scheduled to be demolished on Aug. 24., according to the Farmington mayor’s office. (Photo courtesy of San Juan Citizens Alliance and EcoFlight / Creative Commons)

Officials sitting on the Radioactive & Hazardous Materials interim committee received an update last week on how the state plans to clean up the decommissioned San Juan Generating Station.

The Public Service Company of New Mexico,  or PNM, decommissioned the coal-fired power plant at the end of 2022.

It’s scheduled to be demolished on Aug. 24., according to the Farmington mayor’s office.

And the New Mexico Environment Department is taking steps to evaluate and clean up the ecological impact that decades of burning coal has had on the area’s water and air quality.

But committee members were skeptical after hearing an update on the plan.

“This seems problematic,” said Sen. Antoinette Sedillo Lopez (D-Albuquerque), after a presentation by Justin Ball, the chief of the ground water quality bureau at the environment department.

Sedillo Lopez expressed concern that the cleanup plan didn’t consider how the demolition could further contaminate the area’s water and air quality.

“I would encourage the department to look at this more holistically,” Sedillo Lopez said.

While Ball is admittedly not an expert on New Mexico’s air quality laws, he said that the demolition is regulated.

“I would be very surprised if PNM has not gone through the proper steps to get a permit to do the demolition that they are proposing,” Ball said.

The discrepancy spurred several lawmakers on the committee to say they would like Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham to clarify monitoring responsibilities.

The site cleanup won’t happen until a three-phase plan is completed .

Site evaluation and environmental risk documentation should begin sometime this month.

Then, at the end of the year, the department plans to start collecting field samples and analyze data. A finalized cleanup plan should be presented next summer.

At the end of the day, financial responsibility for the cleanup will hinge on PNM, the prior operator of the plant.

The utility company was asked to be present at the committee meeting, but declined to participate.

This article first appeared at KUNM News. It is republished here with permission.