Annual state report shows regulators approved 838 new wells in 2022, with a sharp increase on the Front Range
Colorado Air Pollution Control Division
Posted inOpinion Columns
Opinion: To regulate methane emissions, Colorado needs clear data
Simply collecting methane measurements is not enough. Getting to one accurate version of the truth is harder than it looks
Posted inEnvironment
Can Colorado activists win a second battle to shut down the Cemex cement plant in Boulder County?
The cement plant’s nearby mine is closed after opponents won a victory last year. Now they’re going after the whole thing.
Posted inOpinion Columns
Opinion: Colorado won’t reduce its hazardous ozone levels voluntarily
The evidence is clear: It’s going to take laws and rules to make Front Range air safe to breathe again.
Posted inClimate, Energy, News
Oil and gas and cryptocurrency miners are Colorado’s new odd couple. And they’re making quite a bit of coin.
JACKSON COUNTY — Tan pump jacks, 140-year-old oil field technology, bob up and down amid the purple sage in this rural corner of Colorado, lifting oil from deep below and also fueling a very 21st century frenzy: cryptocurrency mining. The pump jack wells are tied to natural gas generators powering trailers filled with bitcoin mining […]
Posted inEnvironment
Charts that explain why it’s so hard to cut Colorado ozone
Ozone is the toxic air pollutant that has a lot of smart people on the Front Range really befuddled right now. Colorado is making big cuts to greenhouse gases, mainly by closing coal-fired power plants even faster than expected. New laws, and old cars switched out for new ones, have made steep cuts to the […]
Posted inClimate, Energy, News, Politics and Government
First comprehensive oil and gas drilling plan under Colorado’s new regulations gets go-ahead
Colorado’s first comprehensive oil and gas development plan — a new mechanism aimed at better assessing and managing the cumulative impacts of drilling — was approved by state regulators Wednesday, paving the way for more than 200 new wells in Weld County. Kerr-McGee, a subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum Corp., got a greenlight from Colorado Oil […]
Posted inClimate, Energy, Environment, News
Environmental coalition sues Colorado over late air pollution permit for West Elk Mine
Colorado has missed by almost a year an air pollution permit deadline for the West Elk Mine near Paonia, a major Western Slope source of volatile organic compounds, n-hexane, methane and other pollutants, according to a lawsuit filed by a coalition of environmental groups. Arch Coal-owned West Elk applied for an air pollution permit in […]
Posted inClimate, Energy, Environment, News
EPA fines Weld County gas processor $3.25 million for leaks
A Colorado natural gas processor will pay a $3.25 million fine in a settlement with federal and state air pollution officials, after allegations the company failed to detect and repair leaks that contributed to worsening ozone problems on the northern Front Range. DCP Operating Company LP and five related subsidiaries will pay the fines and […]
Posted inClimate, Energy, Environment, News
Colorado regulators approve 3 utilities’ clean energy plans despite environmentalists’ objections
Colorado regulators have signed off on clean energy plans from three utilities despite objections from environmental groups claiming the plans include vague promises of green electricity and didn’t account for nearly 200,000 tons of dirty coal emissions. State clean energy officials say they’re satisfied the plans from Colorado Springs Utilities, Holy Cross Energy and Platte […]