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Commission accepts PNM's decommissioning work and releases Ordinance 1-21
Summary
San Juan County commissioners voted to accept PNM's completion of the San Juan Generating Station decommissioning and to issue the required ordinance release after independent engineering review and a Burns & McDonnell completion report found remediation and demolition met county requirements.
San Juan County commissioners voted to accept Public Service Company of New Mexico's completion of demolition and remediation work at the San Juan Generating Station and to issue the formal fulfillment and release required under Ordinance 1-21.
County engineering staff and an independent consultant reviewed PNM's documentation and site conditions, including a Burns & McDonnell decommissioning completion report supplied by PNM. The consultant reported above-ground infrastructure was removed, asbestos abatement completed, underground and above-ground storage tanks removed, and site grading and stormwater controls were installed consistent with the approved demolition and remediation plan. The commission was told roughly 16,000 tons of construction-and-demolition debris (about 700 truckloads) were disposed at the county landfill during decommissioning.
PNM representatives who addressed the commission described the project as "bittersweet," noting the utility still has no long-term plan for the cleared site but that it has received soft inquiries about renewable development. County staff said concrete foundations and some subsurface features remain but that the site has been restored to prevailing grade and that environmental permit conditions reported by the New Mexico Environment Department have been satisfied.
After the presentations and brief public questions about tank removals and remediation, a commissioner moved to accept the consultant's finding that PNM met the ordinance requirements and to issue the formal notification letter the ordinance calls for. The motion was seconded and adopted by voice vote.
The commission did not make a decision about future reuse of the property; PNM said it would continue stakeholder engagement on long-term options. The county will maintain its engineering oversight role and keep record copies of the consultant reports and photos documenting before-and-after site conditions.
"The team worked cohesively with county staff and consulting engineers to make sure we met all the requirements," PNM's Wes Gray said in brief remarks to the board.
