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Colorado Responds To Federal Coal Extension Orders With New Emissions Requirements
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Colorado Responds To Federal Coal Extension Orders With New Emissions Requirements

By Scott Weiser | The Denver Gazette Gov. Jared Polis signed into law a bill in reaction to orders from the U.S. Department of Energy to keep older coal units online. The federal government’s instructions applied to Craig Unit 1 in Colorado, one of five coal units affected nationwide. The state legislation requires installation of modern pollution controls and cost reporting for any Colorado coal-fired power plants that continue operating beyond planned retirement dates. The measure, House Bill 26-1226, also directs the Public Utilities Commission to support resource planning consistent with state clean energy goals. The legislation signed June 4 targets qualifying coal units that emitted significant nitrogen oxides or sulfur dioxide in 2024. It...
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Colorado Regulators Approve Aurora Area Wells Despite Fierce Community Opposition
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CBS Colorado, Approved, Local

Colorado Regulators Approve Aurora Area Wells Despite Fierce Community Opposition

By Kelly Werthmann | CBS Colorado Colorado regulators on Tuesday cleared the way for a controversial oil and gas project near the Aurora Reservoir, following a yearslong battle by community members to block the plan. In a narrow 3-2 vote, the Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission approved the permit for SM Energy's Sunlight-Long well development plan. The decision follows more than six hours of presentations and deliberations on Tuesday, marking the culmination of at least seven public hearings regarding the site's potential impact on the surrounding area. CBS The approval allows for fracking operations to move forward approximately 3,000 feet from the nearest homes. Members of the community group Save the Aurora Reservoir (STAR) have fought th...
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Denver’s growth dilemma: More housing, less breathing room
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, Commentary, Top Stories

Denver’s growth dilemma: More housing, less breathing room

Neil Wolkodoff | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice In the past, residents enjoyed Denver for a positive lifestyle and outdoor recreational activities. That was the past; is the push to control housing changing that for the worse? Regrettably, the answer is yes. Let’s start with the overzealous and yet misplaced idea that affordable housing, which increases density, is positive. You are correct: large, four-story apartment complexes now occupy nearly every large, vacant lot or former grocery store. The first issue is that adding density to a climate with limited airflow because of being in a basin is bad for health. More people, increased density and personal greenhouse gases, heat and waste increase. Has this made a difference? The health issue is that air quality affec...
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Federal EPA Regulators Flag Colorado Air Permits For Weak Gas Monitoring
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

Federal EPA Regulators Flag Colorado Air Permits For Weak Gas Monitoring

By Michael Booth | The Colorado Sun State needs to ensure Western Slope companies are monitoring harmful gas releases, order says. The Environmental Protection Agency has slapped back six oil and gas air pollution permits to Colorado regulators, saying the state failed to require adequate monitoring of natural gas venting in the Garfield County systems and risked letting too much dirty air into the atmosphere.  The environmental watchdogs who objected to two oil and gas companies’ permits called the rare Trump Administration rejection a victory in their ongoing campaign to force Colorado into more monitoring of gas leaks, intentional venting and flaring. Repeated failures in any of those steps of natural gas gathering release harmful volatile organic compounds a...
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Trump Administration Rolls Back EPA Climate Authority, Phil Weiser Vows Yet Another Lawsuit
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

Trump Administration Rolls Back EPA Climate Authority, Phil Weiser Vows Yet Another Lawsuit

By Michael Booth | The Colorado Sun It’s a regulatory win for conservatives that will set back state’s antipollution efforts and greatly impact the car and truck economy, officials say. he Trump EPA’s Thursday repeal of an Obama-era “endangerment finding” that allowed federal regulation of greenhouse gases from vehicles and other sources will set back Colorado air pollution efforts, but progressive environmental groups and supportive state officials vowed to “play the long game” to restore key controls.  Repealing the EPA’s right to set greenhouse gas controls was a long-stated target of GOP politicians and conservative business groups, who find the regulations excessive and question the practicality of slowing global warming. The immediate impact of negating th...
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Colorado Air Regulators Seek Steep Fee Increases to Fund Rising Regulatory Demands
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Colorado Air Regulators Seek Steep Fee Increases to Fund Rising Regulatory Demands

By Scott Weiser | The Denver Gazette Colorado’s air quality agency plans to raise charges for air pollution permits and emissions reports for businesses that release even modest amounts of contaminants, potentially increasing fees by 65-70% over two years to generate $13.5-$14 million, according to state budget documents. The Air Pollution Control Division has proposed updates to two existing regulations. The changes would increase fees for annual pollution reports that detail a facility’s emissions output, permit processing and yearly emissions fees, while cutting some duplicate paperwork. The proposals aim to help fund the division’s work reviewing submissions and enforcing clean air standards, according to the agency. READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT THE DENVER GAZET...
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EPA Says Colorado Overstepped Law By Using Haze Rules To Close Coal Plants
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

EPA Says Colorado Overstepped Law By Using Haze Rules To Close Coal Plants

By Michael Booth | The Colorado Sun The federal government said the coal plants were needed for “grid reliability” and a regional haze-fighting plan violated the Clean Air Act. The Trump administration Friday further eroded Colorado’s longstanding mandate to close coal-fired power plants by 2031, saying the state’s required regional haze-fighting plan goes too far and violates the Clean Air Act. But the regional haze plan covers everything from emissions at the Suncor refinery and Colorado’s three major cement kilns to natural gas power and other pollution sources. In rejecting the entire plan, the EPA may throw many of Colorado’s pollution fighting plans into regulatory purgatory for years. Colorado’s coal plants are needed for “grid reliability,” the federal g...
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Air-quality politics put Denver first and rural Colorado last
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Colorado Politics, Approved, Commentary, State

Air-quality politics put Denver first and rural Colorado last

By Tony Olivero | Commentary, Colorado Politics  As former rural lawmakers, we’re no strangers to the state trying to squeeze us into the same box as the Front Range. But Colorado’s latest regulations take things to a new level: not only are they completely unworkable for our communities, but the rules also reveal a hypocritical double standard that puts rural Colorado last. Starting on Wednesday, Colorado’s air quality commission is holding hearings on their roll out of Regulation 31, a mandate that forces even the smallest landfills to install costly methane capture systems, regardless of whether those systems make scientific, environmental, or economic sense.   The process to get here was rushed and the new rules lack clear written implementation procedures and ignore...
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