The Four Corners Power Plant is located on the Navajo Nation reservation just 2 miles south of the agricultural town of Fruitland, NM.
Learn more about this power plant
The plant, operated by Arizona Public Service Co., provides power to about 300,000 households in New Mexico, Arizona, California and Texas. It was built between 1960 and 1971 and generates 2400 megawatts of electricity. It has been one of the dirtiest plants in the country, emitting over 15 million tons of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, particulates and carbon dioxide annually, along with 590 pounds of toxic mercury. Its nitrogen oxide emissions have exceeded all other power plants in the United States. Emissions at the plant have gone unregulated since it was built because of past disagreements over whether New Mexico, the Navajo Nation or the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) should have jurisdiction over it. It has been the only power plant in the US operating without a pollution permit.