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[[Image:Coal plant on mesa.jpg|thumb|right|Coal plant on Black Mesa]]The [[Four Corners Steam Plant]], one of the largest coal-fired generating stations in the United States, is located on Navajo land in Fruitland, New Mexico. The plant’s five units generate 2,040 megawatts of electricity and are operated by [[Arizona Public Service Company]], which serves about 300,000 homes in New Mexico, Arizona, California, and Texas.<ref>[http://www.pnm.com/systems/4c.htm Four Corners Power Plant,] PNM website</ref> The American Lung Association estimates that 16,000 people in the region (15 percent of the population) suffers from lung disease probably caused by plant emissions. Each year the plant emits 157 million pounds of [[Sulfur dioxide and coal|sulfur dioxide]], 122 million pounds of nitrogen oxides, 8 million pounds of soot and 2,000 pounds of [[Mercury and coal|mercury]]. The plant's five burners utilize [[scrubber]] technology to reduce sulfur dioxide and were installed in the 1960s.<ref>[www.epa.gov/osw/nonhaz/industrial/special/fossil/sites/nn-visit.pdf “EPA Site Visit Report Coal Combustion Waste Minefill Management Practices] U.S. EPA December 13, 2001</ref>

In addition to air pollution, waste from the coal mines supporting the Four Corners and San Juan plants has contaminated the water with sulfates, leading to the death of livestock. According to one source, 70 million tons of [[Coal waste|coal combustion waste]] (containing cadmium, selenium, arsenic, and lead) has been dumped in the [[Navajo Mine]], and combined with the [[San Juan mine]], amounts to a total of 150 million tons.<ref>[http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=14435 “Speaking Diné to Dirty Power: Navajo Challenge New Coal-Fired Plant,”] quote from Jeff Stant, Clean Air Task Force consultant, Jeff Conant, CorpWatch, April 3, 2007</ref>