WildEarth Guardians

Thursday, September 18, 2008
Proposed Clean Air Plan for Denver Fails to Cut Through the Smog

Colorado Air Commission Called on to Strengthen Ozone Clean up Plan, Fully Protect Public Health
Contact: WildEarth Guardians

DENVER - WildEarth Guardians today will be calling on the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission to strengthen a clean air plan for the Denver metro region and fully safeguard public health and the environment from harmful ozone air pollution, the key ingredient of smog. The plan, which will be proposed at the Commission’s meeting at the Department of Public Health and Environment, would barely reduce ozone, leaving the public gasping for clean air.

“When it comes to safeguarding public health, this plan falls miserably short,” said Jeremy Nichols, the Climate and Energy Program Director for WildEarth Guardians. “It’s like washing the dishes without soap-this plan simply doesn’t cut through the smog and keep us safe.”

Ozone forms when nitrogen oxide and volatile organic compound pollution from smokestacks, tailpipes, and oil and gas drilling react with sunlight. Children, seniors, those with asthma and other respiratory conditions, and even active adults are most at risk. It is a regional public health problem in the Denver metro region. In 2007, the region-from Douglas County north to Fort Collins and Greeley-officially violated federal ozone health limits, forcing the state to develop a clean air plan. Earlier this year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency strengthened ozone health limits, setting them at 75 parts per billion, down from 85 parts per billion. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that for every dollar spent on reducing ozone to meet the new health limits, society reaps up to $2.00 in benefits.

In August of 2007, Governor Bill Ritter issued a directive calling for a clean air plan to immediately reduce ozone levels to at least 80 parts per billion and to chart a path forward to meet the new standard of 75 parts per billion in the Denver metro region.

Unfortunately, the clean air plan that will be proposed today not only fails to meet key federal Clean Air Act requirements that protect public health, but also fails to reduce ozone below unhealthy levels to meet Governor Bill Ritter’s directive. Notwithstanding this, staff with the Colorado Air Pollution Control Division will present the clean air plan to the Commission and ask the Commission to schedule a rulemaking hearing in December to debate and ultimately adopt the plan.

At issue is the failure of the proposed plan fails to include a number of safeguards, including cuts in nitrogen oxide pollution. Nitrogen oxides are a byproduct of combustion. Recent air quality modeling released last July reported, “preliminary results suggest that regional NOx [nitrogen oxide] controls are one of the most effective strategies for reducing ozone in the Denver NAA [nonattainment area].” See Report at page 7.

While the proposed clean up plan will require massive reductions in volatile organic compound pollution from oil and gas drilling operations north of Denver, including a 95% reduction from over 5,000 tanks that store volatile oils, these reductions alone will barely reduce ozone. At the Rocky Flats ozone monitor, which recorded a violation of ozone health standards in 2007, ozone concentrations will drop from 85 parts per billion to 84.7 parts per billion-a mere 0.3 parts per billion and still above federal health limits. At most, modeling projects the plan will reduce ozone concentrations by only 1.7 parts per billion.

“This plan calls for the bare minimum, both ignoring Governor Bill Ritter’s directives and the public health costs of air pollution,” said Nichols. “With our health at stake, we can and must do better."

Air quality modeling shows that just by reducing nitrogen oxide pollution by 30%, in addition to reducing volatile organic compounds from oil and gas drilling operations, ozone in the Denver metro region could be reduce by as much as 4.7 parts per billion. See, Modeling Data. Strengthening controls at coal-fired power plants, natural gas processing plants, and other large factories, could easily reduce nitrogen oxide pollution in the Denver metro area.

Once the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission decides to schedule a rulemaking hearing in December, a prehearing process will commence. That process will involve public scrutiny of the clean air plan and prehearing briefing, where interested parties will present written arguments supporting or opposing the plan and alternative proposals. WildEarth Guardians will be joining the rulemaking as an interested party to ensure the clean air plan is strengthened and fend off any attempt to weaken the plan.