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<br />. ~ <br /> <br />~ <br /> <br />-6- <br /> <br />battery of conflicting pressures leveled by environmental groups and by <br />government agencies. <br />First, the Environmental Protection Agency has told the Interior <br />Department that its draft study of plans for huge coal-burning power <br />plants in the Four Corners area is seriously inadequate and needs exten- <br />sive revision. The EPA suggested that Interior withhold any important <br />decisions affecting these projects until it reconsiders its conclusion <br />that there is no immediate alternative to the proposed power producing <br />units. <br />Already in operation is the Four Corners plant near Farmington, New <br />Mexico, and under construction are the Huntington Canyon plant in Utah <br />and the Navajo plant in Arizona and the San Juan plant in New Mexico. A <br />plant called Kaiparowits is planned for construction in Utah near the <br />Arizona border. Interior's report on these projects said the area's <br />electrical needs "will necessitate some tradeoff with environmental <br /> <br />values. II <br /> <br />Following release of Interior's report EPA ordered operation of <br /> <br /> <br />the Four Corners power plant and the other proposed power plants to re- <br /> <br /> <br />duce their air emissions by 70 percent and that eventually the plants <br /> <br /> <br />would have to reduce emissions by 86 percent to meet EPA primary stan- <br /> <br /> <br />dards and 92 percent to meet secondary standards. <br /> <br /> <br />Charles Murray, enforcement chief for EPA Denver office, expressed <br /> <br /> <br />concern by saying "the best techniques available today can only guarantee <br /> <br /> <br />a 70 percent reduction." Operators of the Four Corners plant argue that <br /> <br /> <br />they have already spent more than $23 million to reduce air pollution <br /> <br /> <br />and that the pollution control costs have raised the price of the in- <br /> <br /> <br />stallation to $350 million. <br /> <br /> <br />Sierra Club leaders from eight Western states, meeting in Denver on <br /> <br /> <br />July 16, adopted a resolution to fight for federal adoption of air <br />