Colorado air pollution regulators have issued one of the Suncor refinery’s two long-delayed permit renewals, while also strengthening rules on how the company must carry out a new air monitoring law to protect neighbors. The EPA also signaled it no longer objects to the Plant 2 permit for Suncor after the state made some revisions. […]
Commerce City
Posted inEnvironment, News, Water
Colorado to expand probes of PFAS “forever chemicals” in biosolids from city waste
Wastewater treatment plants may have to start testing for presence of PFAS “forever chemicals” in biosolids as early as next year, and those plants may be required to investigate upstream sources of the toxic substances, Colorado regulators say. State water quality officials also said Colorado’s PFAS grant program is also open to help communities test […]
Posted inEnvironment, News, Water
South Adams County water district is buying Denver’s water to dilute “forever chemicals”
The South Adams County Water and Sanitation District, anchored by Commerce City, will be paying Denver Water $2.75 million this year for enough supply to dilute local well water tainted by PFAS “forever chemicals” from firefighting foam runoff, officials said Tuesday. The district serves 65,000 people, and said it needs a new $130 million treatment […]
Posted inCrime and Courts, News
Fentanyl linked to deaths of 5 adults in Colorado apartment; baby, adult hospitalized
Five adults were found dead in a Colorado apartment Sunday after officials say they consumed a deadly amount of fentanyl apparently believing it was cocaine. Another adult and a 4-month-old child were alive inside the unit. The three women and two men died so quickly after ingesting the drugs that they were unable to call […]
Posted inClimate, Environment, News
Colorado approves Suncor permit renewal, but air pollution activists say they will keep trying to block it
Colorado air quality officials have approved a permit renewal for portions of Suncor’s refinery in Commerce City, prompting vows from community officials and environmental groups to keep fighting the permit at the EPA and in court. The EPA now has 45 days from Feb. 8 to review the updated permit conditions and either approve them […]
Posted inEnvironment, News
Colorado must decide “without delay” if it will renew long-delayed Suncor permits, judge rules
State air pollution officials must decide on long-stalled emissions permit renewals for the Suncor Refinery in Commerce City “without delay,” a state District Court judge ruled. One of Suncor’s two key permits was supposed to be renewed by the state Department of Public Health and Environment after expiring in 2012, the other in 2018. A […]
Posted inClimate, Environment, Health, News, Outdoors
Suncor must make pollution cuts to meet new haze rules protecting Colorado park views
Suncor must make deeper cuts to its sulfur dioxide emissions as part of state regulators’ revisions to federal “regional haze” rules, meant to boost visibility and restore pristine conditions at Rocky Mountain National Park, Great Sand Dunes and wilderness areas. The Air Quality Control Commission gave preliminary approval in November to a plan telling Suncor […]
Posted inEnvironment, Health, News
Colorado issues tough new draft rules on Suncor to limit runoff of dangerous “forever chemicals” into water
Colorado will for the first time monitor and limit runoff of PFAS, dangerous “forever chemicals” threatening drinking water across the nation, at Suncor’s Commerce City Refinery as part of a long-anticipated draft of the company’s water quality permit unveiled Tuesday. The draft of the renewed permit also demands rigorous benzene cleanup and other controls sought […]
Posted inColoradans, Health, Housing, News
A Colorado clinic’s prescription for healthier patients? Lawyers.
By Jakob Rodgers, Kaiser Health News COMMERCE CITY — In her 19 years of living with cerebral palsy, scoliosis and other ailments, Cynthia Enriquez De Santiago has endured about 60 surgeries and her heart has flatlined at least four times. But the most unusual doctor’s referral of her life came last year: Go see an attorney. […]
Posted inNews, Politics and Government
Here are the themes from meetings across Colorado on the state’s new congressional, legislative maps
East versus west versus south. Rural versus urban. County versus county. In more than 100 hours of public testimony during July and August, the two independent commissions redrawing Colorado’s congressional and legislative maps heard plenty about perceived differences among various communities. They also heard why certain cities and counties shouldn’t be split among multiple districts. […]