WELD COUNTY, Colo.— In response to a petition filed by the Center for Biological Diversity, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ruled this week that the state of Colorado failed to lawfully permit air pollution from a large oil and gas well site north of Denver.
“This ruling highlights how the Polis administration continues to give the oil and gas industry a free pass to pollute our environment and endanger our health,” said Jeremy Nichols, a senior advocate at the Center. “Thankfully the EPA stepped in to ensure oil and gas companies are actually held accountable for reducing air pollution.”
In a ruling signed Wednesday by EPA Administrator Michael Regan, the agency found that the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment failed to ensure that flaring at the well site effectively reduced smog-forming volatile organic compounds in compliance with the Clean Air Act. Colorado also failed to require sufficient monitoring of other harmful flaring emissions, the EPA found.
The ruling comes on the heels of similar EPA rulings — one in late January and one in April — also rejecting Colorado air permits for the oil and gas industry. The latest ruling continues to call into question Colorado’s oversight of the oil and gas industry and whether it is effectively controlling air pollution by burning it with flares in the Denver Metro-North Front Range region.
The order comes as ozone pollution, the key ingredient of smog, is plaguing the Denver Metro-North Front Range region this summer. This area, home to more than 4 million Coloradans, has suffered from ozone pollution exceeding the EPA’s health standard for more than 15 years. Oil and gas production is estimated to contribute as much as 40% of the region’s ozone pollution.
“There is no doubt that flawed air pollution permits are contributing to high ozone,” said Nichols.
The EPA’s objection comes in response to a petition filed in April challenging a new air pollution permit allowing HighPoint Operating Company, a subsidiary of the oil giant Civitas, to operate a large oil and gas well site east of the city of Greeley.
Tanks, engines, gas venting and processing, and leaking pipes at HighPoint’s wells emit large amounts of toxic gases, including nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds, particulate matter, benzene and formaldehyde. Flares are used to burn off some of this toxic pollution.
Both nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds form ground-level ozone. In the Denver Metro-North Front Range region, data shows oil and gas production releases more smog-forming emissions than all cars and trucks combined.
The petition targeted the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s failure to ensure adequate testing and monitoring of flares. While the department widely assumes the oil and gas industry reduces smog-forming pollution by 95% or more using flares, reports indicate flares often fail to meet this level of control.
Smog pollution linked to oil and gas extraction is linked to human health problems like asthma attacks, cardiovascular issues and premature death. Those most at risk include older adults, children and people who work outdoors. The harm ozone does to plants can damage entire ecosystems and reduce biodiversity. Ozone is particularly noted for harming birds.
Under the Clean Air Act, Colorado officials have 90 days to respond to the EPA’s ruling and revise the flawed air pollution permit.
More information about the Center’s fight against air pollution is available at Protecting Air Quality Under the Clean Air Act.
