Environment
Colorado tightens air pollution rules after staff shake-up, whistleblower complaint
Policies that weakened oversight of small polluters have been tightened. But they still may have "backdoor exits" one environmental group says.
Stingy car electrification plan by Black Hills Energy drives Pueblo inequity, advocates say
Southern Colorado utility’s first required Transportation Electrification Plan offers far fewer public benefits than Xcel’s in a place that needs it much more, the groups say.
Smells like a fossil fuel. Works like a fossil fuel. But these Colorado stations pump a gas with emissions less than zero.
Fleets that use renewable natural gas created by landfill methane, manure and sewage treatment qualify for clean fuel subsidies and capture damaging greenhouse gases.
Power companies’ plans to expand wind, solar on Colorado’s Eastern Plains meet local headwinds
To help meet targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, Xcel Energy has already proposed a $1.7 billion high-voltage transmission line that would circle the Eastern Plains and ferry clean electricity to the Front Range
From sky to bedrock, researchers near Crested Butte are resetting what we know about water in the West
The mobile observatory is manned by 100 scientists who hope to show how the West can get a better handle on where and when water will be available
Xcel Energy will drop $3 monthly pipeline fee that has raised three times the amount it was intended to collect
An agreement with utility regulators will still allow Xcel to charge customers for system upgrades, but with more scrutiny than the Pipeline System Integrity Adjustment, which generated $610 million
Ozone plagues Colorado’s Front Range, state report says, but bids to change it are elusive
Air pollution officials wrap up the “ozone year” with a dire look at summer of ‘21 and rising three-year averages, with little hope for better in near future.
Colorado doesn’t have a statewide building code. Would enacting one help protect homes against wildfire?
A handful of state lawmakers are interested in pursuing a statewide building code, in large part as a way to secure more federal grant money
Colorado gets a 43rd state park under first-in-the-nation deal with the Forest Service
Several owners have eyed development of the 488-acre Sweetwater Lake parcel in the last 30 years, but the Garfield County oasis is now the second new state park in the last two years
New projections for low Colorado River flows speed need for dramatic conservation
Conservation groups say revised Bureau of Reclamation predictions are welcome realism showing Colorado needs to save water now.
Biden administration formally removes Colorado River fish’s endangered status
The humpback chub was first listed as endangered in 1967
EPA unveils strategy to regulate toxic “forever chemicals”
The plan is intended to restrict PFAS from being released into the environment, accelerate cleanup of contaminated sites such as military bases and increase investments in research.
Colorado may have more sites with dangerous “forever chemicals” than any other state
A new analysis of an EPA database shows demand for PFAS in fracking and other industries puts Front Range at the top of the contamination list.
Where did the wild horses removed from Sand Wash Basin go? A Colorado state prison.
Mustang advocates who wanted the horses to remain free now are frustrated by a lack of access to holding pens at the prison. One beloved horse was euthanized.
After collecting $610 million from Colorado customers, regulators say it’s time to end Xcel’s pipeline repair fee
The Pipeline System Integrity Adjustments fee was supposed to be temporary. A decade on, it now accounts for 16% of Xcel’s natural gas revenue in Colorado.
Rivian electric vehicle chargers are not coming to Colorado parks anytime soon
The EV maker had pledged to start installing public chargers at every state park starting in July, at no cost to government, but officials haven’t finished an agreement yet.
Trout (and anglers) love Colorado’s Dream Stream — and transported trees could keep it thriving
This stretch of the South Platte and its world-class fishing have been damaged by floods, but borrowed root wads and other material could repair and protect it for years to come
Colorado air pollution director Garry Kaufman reassigned after conflict of interest investigation
A special investigator found a failure to report professional conflict and raised questions about Colorado’s pollution modeling. Kaufman is moved to a newly-created job less than a month later.
Forest Service seeks to pinpoint Hanging Lake headwaters after fire, floods
The U.S. Forest Service is working with scientific consultants from the renowned Ozark Underground Laboratory out of southwest Missouri
Elk roaming Colorado with tire around neck for 2 years freed
The 4 1/2-year-old, 600-pound bull elk was spotted near Pine Junction, southwest of Denver, on Saturday evening and tranquilized
