\u201cOf even more significant and urgent importance, methane impacts the health of everyone living and breathing in our community, and is curable now. State leaders are doing the right thing by enacting stronger rules for the entire state of Colorado to cut methane and other pollutants from oil and gas.\u201d<\/p>\n
In 2014, Colorado became one of the first states in the country to implement regulations to reduce methane emissions from oil and gas operations, calling on companies to fix leaks or install new equipment to better capture the greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change.<\/p>\n
The rules, however, were made stricter in 2017 but applied only to oil and gas facilities on the Front Range. The new regulations adopted Thursday by the Air Quality Control Commission not only call for stricter measures to reduce methane emissions, they now apply across the entire state of Colorado.<\/p>\n
\u201cWestern Slope Coloradans live under a methane cloud that threatens both our health and environment, and so we need the same air quality protections as those living on the Front Range,\u201d Mark Pearson, executive director of San Juan Citizens Alliance, said in a prepared statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe appreciate that the commissioners have listened to our concerns, and thank the AQCC for enacting strong methane regulations with enhanced leak testing and repair requirements, as well as stronger standards for storage and reporting.\u201d<\/p>\n The new rules call for more frequent inspections of facilities within 1,000 feet of homes, schools or public buildings, and require companies to further prevent leaks of liquids and emissions from storage tanks.<\/p>\n In La Plata County, there are about 3,500 active wells. According to a study from a coalition of environmental groups<\/a>, about 17,500 people and 18 educational facilities are located within a 2,640-foot radius of an oil and gas site.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a lot of homes and schools within 1,000 feet of oil and gas facilities, and industry now has to increase their inspections and also repair leaks much faster than required in the past,\u201d said La Plata County Commissioner Gwen Lachelt, who testified in Denver in support of the new rules. \u201cIt was really an historic decision.\u201d<\/p>\n Companies must also create an annual report on methane emissions and develop performance-based standards, among other measures.<\/p>\n On Dec. 11, the state of Colorado held a public meeting in Durango about the proposed rules, in which more than 100 people showed up to voice their support<\/a> of the new regulations.<\/p>\n \u201cThe oil and gas industry is integral to our community, and while they provide jobs subject to the ups and downs in the industry, the big bucks don\u2019t end up here,\u201d said Julie Cooley, who has lived in Durango since 1983. \u201cWhat ends up here is the methane.\u201d<\/p>\n Many people pointed to the \u201cFour Corners methane hot spot\u201d as a prime example of why the regulations were needed in Southwest Colorado.<\/p>\n