Two environmental groups sued Colorado’s air-pollution regulators Wednesday for failing to issue timely permits to two oil and gas operations in Adams County, alleging the delay is jeopardizing the health of people who live near those facilities and breathe dirty air.
The and filed the lawsuit in Adams County District Court over Magellan Pipeline Terminals LLC’s Aurora Terminal, a petroleum products handling and storage facility, and Crestone Peak Resources Operating LLC’s Mustang Booster Station, an oil and gas compressor station.
Both companies have filed applications for air permits with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s and both permits are overdue by several months, according to the lawsuit.
No drafts of the Title V permits — which determine what kind of pollution and how much of it companies are allowed to release into the air — have been released, and no public comment periods on those permits have been opened, the lawsuit stated.
The lawsuit asks a judge to set a deadline for the permits’ approval.
Representatives from the state health department declined to comment on pending litigation.
While the Air Pollution Control Division has a backlog of permit applications, the enviornmental groups chose to sue over these two facilities because they are located in communities where people already suffer from air pollution more than other areas in Colorado, and because they are located within a portion of the state that is not in compliance with federal air quality standards, said Bobbie Mooney, staff attorney for 350 Colorado, a nonprofit that advocates for the elimination of fossil fuel usage.
“Itap important to understand this lawsuit is part of a larger effort to address a very serious air pollution problem we have on the Front Range,” Mooney said. “One way to address this is to make sure the permits are kept up to date.”
Air permits are regulated under the Clean Air Act by the Environmental Protection Agency. States are also heavily involved in writing, approving and enforcing them.
Title V air permits must be approved when a facility with heavy air pollution first operates, and then they must be updated every five years. Companies first apply for permits with the Air Pollution Control Division, which signs off on them, before sending them to the EPA for final approval.
The Clean Air Act requires states to approve or deny permit applications within 18 months of receiving them. Part of that process includes public comment, which allows people impacted by the pollution to ask that certain conditions be attached to the permits, such as air-quality monitoring or for some pollution levels to be lowered.
Companies are allowed to operate under the conditions of their most recent permit while awaiting approval on new ones.
In the case of the Magellan terminal, which is located near Smith and Chambers roads in Aurora, the permit was first issued on Jan. 1, 2020, and it needed renewal by June 19, according to the lawsuit. Magellan filed its renewal application on Dec. 19, 2020.
Crestone Peak’s booster station, which is located north of Interstate 70 near Watkins, has never received an air permit even though it is operating, the lawsuit stated. The company applied for a permit on Oct. 27, 2023, and the deadline for it to receive approval was April 27. The company is allowed to operate under the application it submitted.
The two companies were not named as defendants in the lawsuit because they met their legal obligations by applying for permits on time, Mooney said.
Both companies release volatile organic compounds, nitrogen oxides, carbon dioxide and other pollutants into the air. Those pollutants impact people’s ability to breathe and can cause various diseases. They also contribute to ground-level ozone pollution, which forms a blanket in the atmosphere and contributes to global warming.
In a news release, Dr. Nikita Habermehl, a pediatric emergency medicine physician and 350 Colorado member, said, “Toxic air pollution can cause serious health effects ranging from neurologic disease, respiratory compromise, reproductive problems, cancer and more. This is an urgent public health issue and we need action to ensure polluters are held accountable to protect people and communities.”
