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News Release
Aug. 11, 2003
San Juan Generating Station Receives Green
Zia
Environmental Excellence Recognition for Second Year
Waterflow: The PNM San Juan Generating Station (SJGS)
once again will be recognized by the New Mexico Environment
Department (NMED) Green Zia Environmental Excellence Program
for the plant's commitment to pollution prevention and environmental
management. This year, the plant has received the achievement
level of recognition for furthering its efforts in pollution
prevention.
Green Zia is a voluntary program that encourages New Mexico
organizations to consider environmental performance as a core
business practice. The program encourages business and environmental
integration through a pollution prevention-based environmental
management system. SJGS will receive its Green Zia award from
NMED and Gov. Bill Richardson in September during an award
ceremony in Santa Fe.
"We're honored that our environmental efforts are being
recognized once again by the State of New Mexico," said
Russell Huffman, SJGS plant manager. "San Juan Generating
Station recognizes that our commitment to environmental stewardship
is important in the Four Corners area, and we will continue
to look for ways to improve our environmental performance."
To receive the recognition, SJGS had to demonstrate environmental
commitment and results in numerous areas, including company
and community leadership; planning for continuous environmental
improvement; customer and supplier involvement; internal and
external information collection and management; employee involvement;
process management; and environmental results.
SJGS's pollution-prevention performance recognized by the
Green Zia program includes:
- The plant meets or exceeds all state and federal regulations
established by the Clean Air Act of 1970 and the Clean Air
Act Amendments of 1990.
- From 1998 to 2002, SJGS has decreased emissions in the
following areas:
- 58 percent decrease in sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions;
- 61 percent decrease in acid gas emissions;
- 9.4 percent decrease in fly ash produced; and
- 1,930 percent increase in fly ash recycled.
Some of the efforts SJGS has made to improve plant performance
in these areas include:
- In 2002, SJGS entered into a 15-year agreement with Phoenix
Cement Company to recycle between 150,000 and 300,000 tons
of fly ash annually from two of the plant's units. Phoenix
Cement uses this fly ash in concrete products and roadwork.
- In 2001, SJGS began using coal from an underground mine
after BHP Billiton, the plant's coal supplier, decided to
replace the San Juan and La Plata surface mines with an
underground long wall mine located adjacent to the power
plant. This conversion has reduced fly ash generation and
increased plant efficiency.
- SJGS participates in numerous federal, state and local
initiatives, including the Four Corners Ozone Task Force,
the San Juan River Recovery Project and the U.S. Department
of Energy's voluntary reporting of greenhouse reductions.
- SJGS installed a new $75 million pollution control system
using limestone oxidation process in 1998.
SJGS has received state, national, international and industry
recognition for its environmental management practices. In
2000, an independent auditor certified SJGS's environmental
management system to international ISO 14001 requirements,
and the plant was one of two coal-fired plants to be recognized
nationwide as a member of the Environmental Protection Agency's
National Performance Track.
In 2002, SJGS was recognized with a Green Zia award by the
NMED and was a finalist for the Edison Electric Institute
Edison Award, an industry award for excellence and innovation,
for its proven commitment to environmental initiatives. This
spring, SJGS was named to Greenbiz.com, which recognizes organizations
that have voluntarily reduced their environmental impacts
through initiatives such as preventing pollution, eliminating
waste and using energy, water and other resources more efficiently.
PNM is the principal subsidiary of PNM Resources,
an energy holding company based in Albuquerque. PNM provides
electric utility service to 387,000 customers and natural
gas service to 450,000 customers in New Mexico. The company
also sells power on the wholesale market in the Western U.S.
PNM Resources stock is traded primarily on the NYSE under
the symbol PNM.
SJGS is a 1,798-megawatt coal-fired power
plant located 15 miles northwest of Farmington, N.M. The plant
is PNM's primary generation source, providing 6058 percent
of the power needed by PNM customers. PNM operates the plant
on behalf of the company and eight other owners.
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