By Geoff Oldfather, manager of communications for the Arizona Electric Power Cooperative. | Arizona Capitol Times
We are disappointed that the Sierra Club chose to misrepresent the facts in the current debate over regional haze controls at Apache Generating Station in southeastern Arizona.
We are referring to comments by Sandy Bahr, director of the Grand Canyon Chapter of the Sierra Club, as reported in the Feb. 15 issue of the Arizona Capitol Times, “Clearing the Haze,” by reporter Ben Giles.
The article details the Feb. 11 hearing before the joint meeting of the Senate Government and Environment and House Energy, Environment and Natural Resources committees, at which Arizona’s G&T Cooperatives CEO Patrick Ledger testified to the severe negative economic impacts the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) final ruling for regional haze controls would have on Apache Generating Station — costing rural customers eight times as much as the rest of the state’s electric ratepayers, or even possibly forcing the eventual closure of Apache Generating Station’s coal facilities.
