Public Notice: Extension of Public Comment Period; NTEC Energy Generation Plant Draft Tribal Synthetic Minor NSR Permit

Summary

Extension of Public Comment Period: Draft Permit and Request for Public Comment on Draft Clean Air Act Synthetic Minor NSR Permit in Indian Country; NTEC Energy Generation Plant Tribal Synthetic Minor NSR Permit Application # 2024-004-SM.

Please see our previous notice for additional information about this action, which is available through the online docket.

As detailed in our previous notice, the EPA scheduled and held two public hearings for this action on April 21, 2026, from 6:00pm to 8:00pm Mountain Daylight Time (MDT) at Upper Fruitland Chapter House at Navajo 36 N562, Fruitland, New Mexico, and on April 22, 2026, from 6:00pm to 8:00pm MDT at Navajo Nation Museum at Arizona 264 and Loop Road, Window Rock, Arizona. Please note that we are not planning any additional public hearings for this draft permit at this time.

The draft permit and other supporting information about this action remain unchanged from the versions we released for public comment on March 19, 2026, and are publicly available through the online docket for this action. You can access the online docket at locations near you with internet access, including:

• Location: Navajo Nation Library – Main Library
  Address: Highway 264 and Postal Loop Road, Window Rock, Arizona 86515
  Hours: Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (except holidays)
  Email: navajonationlibrary@gmail.com 
  Phone: (928) 871-6376
• Location: San Juan College Library
  Address: 4601 College Blvd, Farmington, New Mexico 87402
  Hours: Monday – Thursday, 8 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.; Friday, 8 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
  Email: library@sanjuancollege.edu
  Phone: (505) 566-3249

If you have questions, or if you wish to obtain further information, please contact Po-Chieh Ting at (415) 972-3191, toll-free at (866) 372-9378, or via email at R9airpermits@epa.gov. If you would like to be added to our mailing list to receive future information about this draft permit decision or other permit decisions issued by EPA Region 9, please contact Po-Chieh Ting, or visit EPA Region 9's website.

Summary of Proposed Action

EPA provides notice of and requests public comment on EPA’s proposed action relating to the draft synthetic minor NSR permit for the Source. The Source will be located at Ramp 7 Road, Waterflow, New Mexico 87416, within the Navajo Nation reservation on the reclaimed Navajo Mine. EPA is proposing to issue 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 Blackaller, (720) 202-1426.

This draft permit, if finalized, 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 (NO_X) and oxidation catalyst control equipment for reducing emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOC) and carbon monoxide (CO).

This draft permit, if finalized, places 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, NO_X, CO, particulate matter less than 10 microns in diameter (PM₁₀), and particulate matter less than 2.5 microns in diameter (PM_2.5) 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 at the Source permitted in the draft permit, if finalized, are: 78.83 tons per year (tpy) of VOC, 198.75 tpy of NO_X, 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 draft permit, if finalized, 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, and air quality impact analysis associated with this draft permit can be found in Sections 7 and 9 of the technical support document for this action.

Contact Information

If you have questions, or if you wish to obtain further information, please contact Po-Chieh Ting at (415) 972-3191 or via email at R9airpermits@epa.gov. If you would like to be added to our notification list to receive future information about this draft permit decision or other permit decisions issued by EPA Region 9, please contact EPA at R9airpermits@epa.gov, or sign up at EPA Region 9's website.

***Please bring the foregoing notice to the attention of all persons who would be interested in this matter. ***

Applicants or Respondents