CLEARING THE
AIR
ON THE COLORADO
PLATEAU
It’s decision time for the Grand Canyon
Visibility Transport Commission, the group charged with restoring
clean air to the five-state Colorado Plateau. Congress established
the commission, which includes five Western governors and industry
and environmental representatives, in 1991, allowing it five years
to develop a plan to reduce air pollution (HCN, 6/28/93). After a
final round of hearings this spring, the commission will send its
recommendations to the EPA. But environmental groups, such as the
Arizona-based Grand Canyon Trust, fear the recommendations will be
toothless. Because the Colorado Plateau suffers from dirty air 90
percent of the time, drastic action is required, says Trust
president Geoffrey Barnard. The culprits, he points out, include
smog from cities such as Los Angeles and coal-fired power
plants.
Grand Canyon Superintendent Roger
Amberger said he recently visited the Mohave Power Station 50 miles
upwind of the national park and was amazed by the size of its
plume. “It really shook me,” he reported, “and Mohave is still
there, still in denial, enveloped in excuses, saying, “We can delay
this for another 10 years.” “
The commission will
host public hearings April 9-17 in Arizona, California, Colorado,
Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Wyoming and Washington, D.C. For
complete information, call the commission at 303/623-9378.
*Bill Taylor
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Clearing the air on the Colorado Plateau.
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