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Monday, October 7, 2013
WildEarth Guardians Calls on Colorado to Stop Delaying Fracking Rules, Start Cutting Air Pollution
Front Range Smog Threatens More Regulatory Pain for All, Greater Health Risks
Contact: Jeremy Nichols (303) 437-7663
Denver--Smog along Colorado's Front Range has gotten so bad that the region faces the near-certainty of having to meet more stringent and rigid federal regulation that will burden motorists and industry alike, prompting WildEarth Guardians to call on state regulators today to stop delaying efforts to curtail air pollution.
"Our health and our economy are at risk because of the state's refusal to effectively combat smog along Colorado's Front Range," said Jeremy Nichols, WildEarth Guardians' Climate and Energy Program Director. "It's time for Governor Hickenlooper to start getting serious about clean air; more delay means more pain for everyone."
In a letter to Will Allison, Director of the Colorado Air Pollution Control Division, Guardians pointed to the dire numbers. After 2013, levels of ground-level ozone, the key ingredient of smog, are so bad that it is extremely unlikely the Front Range will meet a December 31, 2015 deadline to clean up the pollution.
The nine-county region, including Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, Jefferson, and most of Larimer and Weld Counties, was declared to be in violation of federal limits on ground-level ozone in 2012. These limits were adopted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to protect public health nationwide. This declaration triggered a three-year deadline for the state to bring the Front Range into compliance.
Unfortunately, since 2012, ozone levels have worsened. Prior to 2012, only two Front Range monitoring sites along the Front Range registered violations. Now, after 2013, 10 monitoring sites are in violation, including monitors in Fort Collins, Greeley, Boulder, Golden, and even Rocky Mountain National Park.
Failure to clean up the region's air pollution means the state faces more stringent and rigid federal regulations, including mandatory vehicle tailpipe testing throughout the Front Range. The state could also face sanctions from the EPA, including restrictions on highway funding and more stringent pollution offsets.
Formed when two key pollutants--volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides--react with sunlight, ozone is a poisonous gas that plagues the Front Range during the summertime. Within the region, oil and gas drilling and fracking, which has grown significantly in the past few years, is the largest source of volatile organic compound emissions and one of the largest sources of nitrogen oxides.
State air regulators have signaled their intent to curtail emissions from fracking and drilling in light their impact on Front Range ozone levels. Unfortunately, these efforts have been delayed by Governor John Hickenlooper and it is unclear when, if ever, new air pollution rules will be adopted.
"More delay isn't just bad for our health, it's bad for the very industry the Governor is defending," said Nichols. "It's time for the Governor to lead the charge for clean air."
Federal rules limit ozone concentrations to no more than 0.075 parts per million over an eight-hour period. To violate, the three-year average of the annual fourth highest eight-hour ozone concentration has to exceed 0.075 at a monitoring site. Four monitors along the Front Range have three-year averages higher than 0.080 parts per million.
Ozone concentrations along the Front Range would have to be maintained at unprecedented lows for the next two years in order for the region to meet the 2015 clean up deadline.
In light of the region's dire ozone, Guardians today called on state regulators to move swiftly and boldly to cut emissions and hopefully avoid a worse outcome. Among other things, WildEarth Guardians is calling on the state to slash oil and gas industry emissions by 25%, to ensure that new oil and gas development uses the most effective pollution controls, and to adopt a contingency plan to reduce emissions further in case ozone levels remain elevated in 2014.
Above all, the letter calls on the state to stop delaying action for clean air.
"We can't afford to wait for clean air," said Nichols. "If we don't move to aggressively curtail pollution now, we'll suffer more extreme consequences later. That's an outcome that nobody should have to endure."
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