A bit of fresh air blew into the industrial rule book recently when the state Air Quality Control Commission imposed tight new pollution standards on Colorado’s booming oil and gas industry.
It was a valuable move, but even so, the new regulations may not be enough to keep the Denver metro area in compliance with federal ozone standards.
The Front Range for some time has been teetering on the edge of violating U.S. Environmental Protection Agency levels for ozone pollution. The recent spurt of oil and gas drilling in the Wattenberg Field in northern Colorado has added significantly to the area’s ozone load and the cocktail of pollutants that form smog.
The governor-appointed commission, in a rare weekend meeting, acted Dec. 17 to impose restrictions tougher than those proposed by state regulators.
Just a few days earlier, commissioners rejected a proposal to extend an emissions- test exemption for new cars past the current four years. It’s a sensible decision, but paradoxically, the commission also decided to expand the state’s drive-by emission- screening program despite its questionable effectiveness. The issue deserves more scrutiny in light of indications that the drive-by technology is inadequate, and we hope the commission will revisit it as it becomes clear the area must do more to curb pollution.
In its decision involving drilling-site pollution, the commission passed over longstanding objections from oil and gas representatives.
Commissioners decided that industry operators must cut emissions of volatile organic compounds from 5,000 tanks north of Denver by 75 percent.
The proposal from state regulators was a 73.3 percent reduction, and the difference might seem small, but it’s worthwhile. It means that each day a few tons less of ozone-forming pollutants will be released into the air.
The Colorado Oil and Gas Association contends it supports emissions reductions, but says the specific proposals before the commission were based on flawed science and have little impact on air pollution levels.
Ken Wonstolen, the association’s attorney, said installing enough additional pollution control devices on tanks to meet the new rule will be a difficult task.
Difficult, perhaps, but necessary.
Last summer, Denver area ozone readings violated federal standards 66 times, according to readings recorded at various monitors from Chatfield to Greeley. Ozone can induce asthma and other breathing problems. These sorts of transgressions have not gone unnoticed by the EPA, which recently sent a warning to Colorado officials by stepping up a timetable by which the Front Range must meet federal pollution standards.
The new rules are a necessary step toward that goal. We’ll all breathe easier when the possibility of federal sanctions is no longer hanging over our heads.
The sooner we have the new standards in place, the better. It’s imperative that state officials continue to make progress in protecting Colorado’s air quality.
