In re Palmdale Energy, LLC

The Center for Biological Diversity, Desert Citizens Against Pollution, California Communities Against Toxics, and Sierra Club (collectively “Conservation Groups” or “Groups”) petition the Environmental Appeals Board (“Board”) to review a Clean Air Act prevention of significant deterioration permit that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”), Region 9 (“Region”), issued to Palmdale Energy, LLC (“Palmdale”). The permit authorizes Palmdale to construct and operate the Palmdale Energy Project (“PEP”), a 645-megawatt combined-cycle natural gas-fired electrical power plant, in Palmdale, California, adjacent to the U.S. Air Force’s Plant 42 aeronautical facility (“Plant 42”). The Conservation Groups challenge certain aspects of the Region’s final permit decision, specifically the Region’s “Best Available Control Technology” (“BACT”) and ambient air quality modeling analyses for the PEP facility.

HELD: The Board denies the Conservation Groups’ petition for review of the Region’s final permit decision.