Comment on FR Doc # 2012-17659

As residents of northern Arizona, we are deeply concerned about the potential effect of your rule requiring the Apache Power Plant, the Coronado Power Plant, and the Cholla Power Plant to achieve 0.05 Ibs/Mmbtu NOx. We are told that some of these plants are presently running at about 0.2 Ibs/Mmbtu after they made hundreds of millions of dollars in extensive improvements to Increase NOx, 502 and particulate removal. We understand that these improvements were made to improve air quality for us as residents. We also understand that we as customers will pay for these improvements. We accept that they were necessary. We are told that the NOx removal requirement you are proposing for these plants is likely to have the effect of forcing their closure. This would have a devastating impact on northern Arizona's economy, which is already suffering because of the closure of the Paper Mill in Snowflake. The closure of the Paper Mill will cost the region more than 300 jobs directly, and many more indirectly. The Imposition of the 0.05 Ibs/Mmbtu requirement could have a compound effect, drawing the region into an economic crisis of tragic proportions. We are told that the purpose of the 0.05 Ibs/Mmbtu requirement is to reduce regional haze and to thereby improve visibility. We are also told that the difference between the NOx emissions presently achieved by these plants and the 0.05 Ibs/Mmbtu you propose will not be visible to us or to those who visit the Grand Canyon, the Petrified Forest, or the other national parks in Arizona. This deepens the tragedy of the impact. Families, businesses, societies and cultures that have been here for generations will be harmed irreparably or lost. We believe that this is neither reasonable, nor fair, nor just.