Mesa County at a Crossroads

Bill Grant, the President of the Board of the Western Colorado Congress, a partner of Rocky Mountain Clean Air Action, writes in the Grand Junction Free Press that "Mesa County is at a crossroads." Why? Because of booming oil and gas development in the region, which in turn is leading to urban smog pollution in western Colorado.

The Denver metro area has grappled with the same issue, with disastrous results. Booming oil and gas development led to 66 exceedances of the federal health standard for smog, also known as ozone, just this last summer. The Colorado Air Pollution Control Division is now proposing to ratchet down on emissions from oil and gas. The proposal would reuqire a 95% reduction in smog forming compounds from condensate tanks that release 11 tons/year or more.

But despite rising smog in western Colorado and booming oil and gas development, the Air Pollution Control Division is proposing weaker clean air standards for the west. Instead of reducing pollution from condensate tanks that release 11 tons/year or more, the Division is targeting only those tanks that release 20 tons of smog forming compounds per year or more.

The inequity is cause for serious concern, as Bill explains. Although Denver's air quality is certainly worse, it doesn't make much sense to require strong smog reductions only where clean air is most at risk. Smog reductions required for the Denver area should be equally applied to the rest of Colorado.

Big city air pollution needs big city solutions. With Mesa and other western Colorado counties seeing urban smog problems tied to oil and gas development, there's no reason that clean air rules for Denver shouldn't be expanded to the western slope.