Editor’s note: This is the fourth in a periodic series about regional trends and issues that were examined in the 2005 Colorado College State of the Rockies Report Card.
Every day, thousands of industrial and government facilities – from pit mines to coal-burning power plants to food- processing facilities to military installations – release tens of millions of pounds of toxic pollution to the nation’s air, water and land.
It may seem like the Rocky Mountain region, with its relatively sparse population and vast natural landscape, experiences releases at a comparably low concentration, but “The Toxic Rockies” section in the 2005 Colorado College State of the Rockies Report Card finds that toxic chemical releases are more concentrated in the Rockies than in the United States as a whole, and Colorado’s Front Range is one of the biggest regional polluters.
This analysis used the most recent data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Toxics Release Inventory to measure the release of six different groups of hazardous chemicals by industrial and federal facilities to air, water and land in 2002.
Across Colorado, toxic air emissions and land releases per square mile are below the average for the Rockies, but at the same time Colorado’s Front Range is home to a significant number of the region’s worst polluting counties. Out of 61 metropolitan counties across the Rockies, Denver, Adams, Jefferson and Boulder counties all rank in the top 10 for toxic air emissions. For metropolitan toxic land releases, Adams and El Paso counties earn top 10 rankings.
Toxic water discharges are 10 times higher in Colorado than the Rockies’ average. Six of the 10 biggest metropolitan toxic water polluters are in the Front Range: Clear Creek, Adams, Jefferson, El Paso, Weld and Pueblo counties.
In 2002, most toxic air emissions in Colorado came from electric utilities (37 percent) and metal-fabricating industries (21 percent). The bulk of toxic land releases came from the metal mining (46 percent), electric utilities (32 percent) and coal mining (19 percent) industries. Almost 90 percent of Colorado’s toxic water discharges came from the food industry in 2002.
Counties are also ranked on overall toxic pollution, a composite of their releases to air, water and land. For metro counties, seven of the top 15 overall polluters in the Rockies are on Colorado’s Front Range. These counties are Adams, Jefferson, Denver, Pueblo, El Paso, Weld and Clear Creek. Colorado’s non- metropolitan counties earned less alarming overall marks: Only two out of 219 in the entire Rockies region made the top 15: Morgan and Rio Grande counties.
What, then, is going on in the Rockies, especially along the Front Range? Are facilities polluting carelessly? Is the government being too lax in creating and enforcing pollution standards? Are community residents simply willing to accept pollution for jobs? Due to the broad nature of the report (280 counties), we could not examine these in-depth, site-specific issues for individual counties, but the study still is valuable because it highlights problem areas.
A historic and contemporary reality is that the United States often treats the Rockies like an inland colony. The nation takes what it wants, from minerals to timber to vacation homes, and leaves behind the residuals, from hazardous abandoned mines to devastated forests to cold-bed communities. We too often count just the jobs and income, failing to account for the pollution and disruption that accompany economic growth.
Dirty coal power plants in the Rockies generate power exported to users outside the region. Military operations, such as nuclear weapons testing and chemical weapons incineration, are carried out on the Rockies’ abundant federal lands. Others’ hazardous wastes are stored, treated and disposed of here.
Keeping toxic pollution to a minimum is especially important here in the Rockies, a region prized for its spectacular beauty and abundant natural resources. We are an “amenity” region of world-class proportions, providing recreation and tourism for visitors and residents alike. Vigilance is necessary to protect the very attributes that define our region’s lifestyles and values.
Industrial and federal facilities are and will continue to be vital contributors to the Front Range economy, but their operations must be held to the utmost scrutiny to ensure that we do not risk too much of the Rockies’ long-term future for today’s jobs. The EPA created the Toxics Release Inventory to inform and empower citizens about toxic pollution in their communities. The program continues to promote dialogue with industry and the government to ensure that all reasonable pollution prevention measures are being taken and to pressure those entities when they are not.
An informed regional citizenry is essential to protecting our communities, economies and natural resources as they face the dynamics of continued growth.
Bryan Hurlbutt is co-editor of the 2005 Colorado College State of the Rockies Report Card. Caitlin O’Brady is a student researcher.
