Public Notice: Final Permit Decision to Issue a Permit under the Clean Air Act Federal Indian Country Minor New Source Review Program; NTEC Energy Generation Plant, San Juan County, New Mexico
Summary
Announcement of Final Permit Decision to Issue a Permit under the Clean Air Act Federal Indian Country Minor New Source Review Program: Navajo Transitional Energy Company (NTEC) Energy Generation Plant. Source ID #: 102; Application #: 2024-004-SM; Permit: C-2026-3.
Final Action
The United States Environmental Protection Agency, Region 9 (EPA) is issuing a synthetic minor New Source Review (NSR) permit for the NTEC Energy Generation Plant, LLC (“Source”). The Source will be located at Ramp 7 Road, Waterflow, New Mexico 87416, with the latitude and longitude coordinates of 36°40’56” North and 108°26’53” West (36.682222, -108.448056), within the Navajo Nation Reservation on the reclaimed Navajo Mine. EPA is issuing this synthetic minor NSR permit to Navajo Transitional Energy Company, LLC (NTEC), 385 Interlocken Crescent #400, Broomfield, Colorado 80021. The contact for the Source is Carolyn Weber (formerly Carolyn Blackaller), (720) 202-1426.
The Source will be a new 742-megawatt (MW) natural gas-fired power plant. This final permit decision will authorize the construction and operation of a new 742-megawatt (MW) natural gas-fired power plant, consistent with the minor NSR regulations for Indian country (40 CFR 49.151-165). The new power plant will consist of eighteen General Electric LM-6000 natural gas-fired stationary combustion turbines, six evaporative cooling towers for the operation of the combustion turbines, one emergency diesel-fired engine-generator set, and one emergency diesel-fired firewater pump. Each combustion turbine will drive a 41.22-MW electrical generator and will be equipped with selective catalytic reduction (SCR) control equipment for reducing emissions of oxides of nitrogen (NOX) and oxidation catalyst control equipment for reducing emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOC) and carbon monoxide (CO).
This final permit will place enforceable limitations on the annual fuel usage of the combustion turbines, the emissions concentrations from the combustion turbines, the annual allowable hours of operation for the cooling towers, and the concentration of total dissolved solids in the circulating water for the cooling towers to limit the emissions of VOC, NOX, CO, particulate matter less than 10 microns in diameter (PM10), and particulate matter less than 2.5 microns in diameter (PM2.5) from the Source below the major emitting facility thresholds under section 169 of the Clean Air Act (CAA), as well as to limit the emissions of hazardous air pollutants (HAP) from the Source below the major source threshold under section 112 of the CAA.
The total allowable emissions permitted at the Source are: 78.83 tons per year (tpy) of VOC, 198.75 tpy of NOX, 170.16 tpy of CO, 16.30 tpy of SO2, 194.86 tpy of particulate matter (PM), 194.86 tpy of PM10, 194.86 tpy of PM¬2.5, 15.07 tpy of total HAP, and 8.35 tpy of maximum single HAP (as formaldehyde).
This final permit will also ensure that the proposed power plant will not cause or contribute to a violation of any National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). More information on the emissions, limitations, control technology review, and air quality impact analysis associated with this final permit can be found in Sections 7, 8, and 9 of the technical support document for this action.
Public comments
The public comment period started on March 19, 2026, and was originally scheduled to end on April 29, 2026. On April 29, 2026, EPA extended the public comment period by 19 days, and the public comment period ended on May 18, 2026. EPA received a total of 140 sets of comments via email, mail, and in the form of in-person written and oral comments at the two public hearings held by EPA on April 21, 2026, and April 22, 2026. EPA has considered all comments received during the public comment period in making its final permit decision. The comments received and EPA’s responses are available as part of the administrative record for this action.
Administrative Record
The final permit and all other supporting information (including all public comments and EPA’s responses to the public comments) are available through www.regulations.gov under Docket ID No. EPA-R09-OAR-2024-0028. If you are not able to access the administrative record through the online docket, please call Po-Chieh Ting at (415) 972-3191 or email at R9AirPermits@epa.gov for alternative methods to obtain a copy. Po-Chieh Ting can also be reached through EPA Region 9’s toll-free general information line at (866) 372-9378.
Permit Appeal
In accordance with 40 CFR §49.159(d)(1) and 40 CFR §124.19, within 30 days after a final permit decision has been issued, any person who filed comments on the draft permit or participated in a public hearing may petition the Environmental Appeals Board (EAB) to review any condition of the permit decision. The petition for review must identify the contested permit condition or other specific challenge to the permit decision and clearly set forth, with legal and factual support, petitioner's contentions for why the permit decision should be reviewed.
The petition must demonstrate that each challenge to the permit decision is based on: 1) a finding of fact or conclusion of law which is erroneous, or 2) an exercise of discretion or an important policy consideration which the EAB should, in its discretion, review. Please see 40 CFR 124.19 and visit Filings, Procedures, Orders, and Decisions of EPA's Environmental Appeals Board for important information regarding the procedures for appeal of a PSD permit decision to the EAB. Any person who failed to file comments or to participate in the public hearing may petition for administrative review of any permit conditions in the final permit decision, but only to the extent that those final permit conditions reflect changes from the proposed draft permit.
The 30-day period within which a person may request review under this section begins with service of notice of the final permit decision. A petition to the EAB is a prerequisite to seeking judicial review of the final agency action under Section 307(b) of the CAA. For purposes of judicial review, final agency action occurs when we deny or issue a final permit and agency review procedures are exhausted. Following an appeal to the EAB, EPA will issue a final permit decision as specified in 40 CFR §124.19(l).
Permit Effective Date
This permit becomes effective 30 days from service of notice, unless review of the final permit is requested under 40 CFR §49.159(d), in which case, the permit’s effectiveness will be stayed and construction cannot be authorized under this permit until agency review procedures are exhausted under 40 CFR §49.159(d) and the Regional Administrator subsequently issues a final permit.
***Please bring the foregoing notice to the attention of all persons who would be interested in this matter.***
Applicants or Respondents
Navajo Transitional Energy Company, LLC (NTEC)385 Interlocken Crescent #400
Broomfield, CO 80021
United States