Another smoky summer brings Front Range closer to federal ozone crackdown

Colorado’s dry, hot summer has contributed to another harsh ozone season along the Front Range, repeatedly pushing pollution levels beyond federal health standards on official air monitors in the densely populated region.

It also appears that the persistent problem is not getting any better.

Last summer, the nine-county region from Fort Collins to Castle Rock experienced 40 days when ozone levels rose above federal health standards; This is higher than the total in eight of the last 10 years. local air quality authorities. These results are even more to show None of the region’s 14 official weather monitors fully comply with federal standards.

“The only season worse than this was 2021, which was an even smokier, hotter summer season that many of you will remember,” Scott Landes, Colorado’s air quality forecaster, told regulators at a presentation earlier this month. “This year was, without a doubt, a bad ozone season by any measure.”

The results have reignited debate about whether policymakers are doing enough to combat the ozone crisis. Last year, Colorado regulators approved new rules to reduce smog-forming compounds produced by lawn equipment and fossil fuel operations, but air quality advocates say the latest figures show the Front Range is no closer to meeting federal standards. a critical 2027 deadline.

Ground-level ozone (a lung-irritating substance better known as smog) tends to reach its highest levels in Colorado’s Front Range from late May to early September. During periods of hot, dry weather, tailpipe emissions and industrial pollution combine to create the highly reactive chemical that forms “background” ozone, unrelated to local sources. Higher concentrations of the pollutant are known to increase hospital visits and shorten human lifespan.

Upcoming air quality deadline

Front Range poised to evolve after U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reclassified the region It is considered a “serious” air quality violator under the weaker 75 parts per billion ozone standard adopted by the federal government in 2008. The district is also in “serious” violation of the tougher standard of 70 parts per billion set in 2015.

The US EPA bases a three-year complex average of exceedances, known as the “design value,” to determine compliance. Because of the recent smoky summer, it will now be even harder for the Front Range to meet the 2027 deadline without an unprecedented drop in pollution levels in 2025 and 2026, said Jeremy Nichols, a senior advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity.

If unsuccessful, the Front Range would join parts of California as the only counties with “extreme” violations of ozone standards set under the U.S. Clean Air Act.

Reclassification could require much stricter pollution permits and possibly force companies to reduce emissions elsewhere to get permission to release smog-forming compounds at a new or expanded facility, Nichols said. It would also give the state more power to limit traffic to reduce tailpipe emissions that contribute to the problem.

“The pool is filling up with more pollution every day, and we need to start draining this pool of pollution,” Nichol said.

Nichols currently helps lead a coalition calling for preventive action. A letter from environmental advocates sent earlier this month calls on the governor to ask the U.S. EPA to reclassify the area as an “extreme” ozone violator due to recent poor ozone numbers.

“Given how bad things are in 2024, it seems like the best thing to do is to be proactive, to take advantage of these tools now, rather than waiting for them to be imposed on us if we don’t meet the 2027 deadline,” said Nichols.

A request for a voluntary downgrade would not be an unprecedented move. in 2019 Governor Polis asked the US Environmental Protection Agency Reclassifying the Front Range from “moderate” to “serious” air quality violator and saying it’s time to stop “sweeping the air quality crisis under the rug.”

This seems unlikely to happen again. Shelby Wieman, a spokeswoman for the governor’s office, said Polis is not considering seeking another downgrade because it would “increase costs for Coloradans and would not provide a significant benefit for clean air.”

Weiman said the governor has demonstrated his commitment to clean air by pushing for a wide range of new regulations, including first-in-the-nation rules to limit key components of ozone from oil and gas operations and large industrial facilities. But environmental advocates said these restrictions give private companies too much leeway and will not effectively limit the total amount of ozone compounds from domestic sources.

Additional policies to improve air pollution

But not all air quality experts are convinced the region is headed for another decline.

Mike Silverstein, executive director of the Regional Air Quality Council and the region’s top air quality planner, said in a presentation to the state’s air pollution commissioners on Oct. 17 that his organization’s latest models show the region is on track to reduce ozone levels to levels below at least slightly lower levels. Weaker 75 parts per billion standard by 2027.

To meet the more stringent 70 PBB standard, Silverstein said the Front Range must reduce emissions of local components of ozone by about 20 percent. While these projections don’t take into account recent air quality policies adopted in Colorado, he said it would still be a huge success for the region.

“This is our fight,” Silverstein said. “We welcome people to our region with our great economy and wonderful environment, and we need to find ways to absorb that growth and protect our environment.”

During the presentation, a commissioner asked whether rules to limit oil and gas activity during the ozone season could help the district meet its goals. In the last legislative session, an unsuccessful bill called for a summer ban on fracking and drilling activities; largest local sources of ozone components Along the Front Range.

Silverstein said his organization plans to propose additional policies this spring to bring the Front Range into full compliance with federal rules. He added that seasonal restrictions, such as a recently approved set of rules limiting utilities’ use of some gas-powered lawn equipment during the summer months, could be an important part of an overall plan.

RAQC spokesman David Sabads later clarified that the planning group was not studying any proposals to limit summer oil and gas operations.

“As you know, these efforts in the legislature have not produced much progress. If they arise elsewhere, we would of course engage in any appropriate stakeholder efforts, but this is not something we intend to lead at this time,” Sabados told CPR News in an email.