Colorado Ozone Reductions Move Forward

Clean air in Colorado is gaining momentum.

The Air Quality Control Commission today decided to move forward with rulemaking to reduce ozone pollution across the state of Colorado. The proposed rule would require the oil and gas industry to use pollution controls to reduce emissions of ozone-forming compounds by over 90% from oil and gas developments.

The proposal would help to protect community health across the state from unhealthy ozone pollution. Even at levels below federal health standards, ozone is a threat to the health of children.

The decision to move forward to protect clean air, however, was almost derailed by industry today. Ken Wonstolen with the Colorado Oil and Gas Association and John Jacus, an oil and gas industry lawyer with Davis, Graham, and Stubbs in Denver argued that the Commission should delay moving forward with statewide ozone reductions. Their request for delay was a thinly veiled attempt to push back, if not derail, the adoption much-needed clean air regulations.

Rocky Mountain Clean Air Action was the only group to testify against this request. Fortunately, we prevailed. The Commission ultimately agreed that it was wise to move forward with the rulemaking and rejected industry's request for delay. Kudos to the Air Quality Control Comissioners for moving forward to protect clean air.