The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has reassigned its top air pollution control official to a newly-created job in the wake of a special investigator’s probe confirming his failure to report a potential conflict of interest. Garry Kaufman, who has led the Air Pollution Control Division since 2017 and previously worked on air […]
Colorado Air Pollution Control Division
Posted inBusiness, Environment, News
Whistleblowers raised valid concerns about Colorado air pollution monitoring, probe finds, but problems were unintentional
Whistleblowers attacking the Colorado Air Pollution Control Division for conflicts of interest and improper modeling of potential pollution sources raised valid concerns in complaints to the EPA Inspector General, but the state’s violations were not intentional and officials did not falsify data, according to a new report by the state Attorney General’s Office. The report […]
Posted inEnvironment, Health, News, Transportation
WHO says air pollution caps should be much tougher in Colorado, U.S.
The World Health Organization says areas like Colorado’s Front Range counties need stringent new air pollution limits, firing a daunting challenge at Colorado leaders already scrambling to catch up to less-onerous restrictions imposed by the EPA. The new WHO guidelines released Wednesday, developed by hundreds of scientists around the world, including Colorado State University environmental […]
Posted inBusiness, Climate, Energy, Environment, News, Politics and Government
Colorado regulators move forward with controversial new rule to slash greenhouse gas emissions
Colorado air quality regulators will move forward with a controversial, first-in-the-nation rule to curb greenhouse gas releases from oil and gas operators based on the intensity of emissions relative to their production. In the face of opposition from some local officials and environmental groups, the Air Quality Control Commission voted on Friday to set a […]
Posted inBusiness, Climate, Energy, Environment, News, Politics and Government
A new rule to slash oil and gas emissions appeals to the industry, but Colorado activists worry it won’t work
The Polis administration is banking on an untested, first-in-the-nation type of regulation to sharply cut oil and gas sector emissions to meet state greenhouse gas targets — drawing praise from the industry, but roiling environmental groups and some local officials. The draft “greenhouse gas intensity target” rule, to be submitted to the Air Quality Control […]
Posted inClimate, Environment, News
Colorado’s bad air includes fumes from sunscreen, bug spray and hand lotion
When Matt Coggon and his team of federal air researchers drive their white utility vans past beaches like Boulder Reservoir on a scorching hot day, their instrument panels instantly detect a cloud of volatile chemicals ascending into the blue Colorado sky. It’s the sunscreen. New papers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows that […]
Posted inClimate, Environment, News
Here’s what you need to know about Colorado air pollution — and what you can do about it
The state has issued an ozone health warning for Coloradans every day since July 5. We’ve already accumulated 37 state Ozone Action Alert Days for 2021 by the last week of July, with plenty of scorching August and September weeks left to go, after tallying 43 all of last year. State officials are all but […]
Posted inClimate, Environment, Health, News
Some of the worst ozone pollution in the U.S. settles along the Front Range. New rules to fix it are ahead.
When it comes to oxygen, the Front Range sometimes has too much of a good thing. On many sunny, summer days the region has not only O2 in the air but also O3 – oxygen with an extra atom that transforms it into a corrosive gas — ozone. “The extra atom of oxygen turns it […]
Posted inEnergy, Environment, News
Northern Weld County to be placed under tighter ozone restrictions in EPA reversal
The EPA has reversed itself and will now place northern Weld County and its extensive oil and gas operations inside the northern Front Range “nonattainment” zone for ozone standards, signaling tighter regulation on those creating the dangerous pollutant and handing a victory to a coalition of environmental groups and local officials. The decision also reverses […]
Posted inEnergy, Environment, News
Colorado OKs Suncor refinery’s plan to fix violations with $12 million in emergency shutoff equipment
Colorado’s air pollution regulators have accepted a third party consultant’s recommendations on changes to the Suncor refinery in Commerce City intended to prevent some toxic releases into the community. The “root cause” investigation was a key part of a $9 million settlement between Suncor and the state Department of Public Health and Environment in March […]