{"id":95631,"date":"2019-02-14T10:27:46","date_gmt":"2019-02-14T17:27:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/western-slope-leaders-call-for-stricter-regulations-on-oil-gas-pollution\/"},"modified":"2019-02-14T10:27:46","modified_gmt":"2019-02-14T17:27:46","slug":"western-slope-leaders-call-for-stricter-regulations-on-oil-gas-pollution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/western-slope-leaders-call-for-stricter-regulations-on-oil-gas-pollution\/","title":{"rendered":"Western Slope leaders call for stricter regulations on oil, gas pollution"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Rules
Rules regulating hydrocarbons have been implemented for nine Front Range counties from the Denver area to Fort Collins. Recently, there\u2019s been a push for hydrocarbon standards to be applied statewide. New regulations could apply to oil and gas producers in Southwest Colorado.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

A growing number of elected officials on the Western Slope are pushing for regulations on oil and gas pollution to reflect stricter rules currently in place on the Front Range.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy would we have lax standards on one side of the state and more stringent standards on the other?\u201d said Pitkin County Commissioner Greg Poschman. \u201cWe need to get on the same page.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2014, the state of Colorado adopted methane emission standards, seen as a national model for regulating the escape of the greenhouse gas from natural-gas and oil extraction operations. However, the rules did not address the issue of hydrocarbons, an oil and gas byproduct that can increase ozone levels and affect human health.<\/p>\n

Three years later, though, rules regulating hydrocarbons were implemented for nine Front Range counties from the Denver metro area to the northern part of the state around Fort Collins.<\/p>\n

Peter Butler, chairman of the state\u2019s Air Quality Control Commission<\/a>, said rules were selected for the Front Range because those communities fall below ozone standards set by the federal government, likely driven by a larger population and more industry operations, especially oil and gas.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why rules are much tighter there than the rest of the state,\u201d Butler said.<\/p>\n

Even vehicles older than seven years are required to pass periodic emissions tests as part of the new rules.<\/p>\n

The Environmental Protection Agency\u2019s ozone standard is 70 parts per billion.<\/p>\n

If a community has more days over 70 parts per billion than set by the standard, it is considered a \u201cnonattainment\u201d area and the state must draft an action plan to get into compliance, a measure laid out in the Clean Air Act.<\/p>\n

The EPA says health risks associated with unsafe ozone levels include difficulty breathing, aggravation of lung diseases such as asthma and increased risk of lung infection, among other risks. Children, older adults and people with asthma are particularly susceptible.<\/p>\n

And, the release of hydrocarbons contributes to rising global temperatures.<\/p>\n

\"On
On parts of the Front Range, vehicles older than seven years are required to pass periodic emissions tests as part of rules regulating hydrocarbons.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Despite the Front Range\u2019s rules, air quality in Denver and to the north worsened last year, likely because of an increasing number of people and cars, pollution from outside the state, warmer temperatures and more wildfires. As a result, the region missed an extended deadline to meet federal health standards.<\/p>\n

Recently, there\u2019s been a push for hydrocarbon standards to be applied statewide.<\/p>\n

The state\u2019s Air Quality Control Commission set up a task force last year to accomplish this goal.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn a year from now, we\u2019re expecting them to come forward with some proposal, either regulatory or non-regulatory, to reduce emissions,\u201d Butler said.<\/p>\n

The news is welcome to some elected officials on the Western Slope who say air pollution has no boundaries, making it a statewide \u2013 even nationwide \u2013 problem.<\/p>\n

<\/p>

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