Dec 17, 2006 8:09 pm US/Mountain
Regulators May Clamp Down On Oil, Gas Industry
By Kim Nguyen, Associated Press Writer
DENVER (AP) ―
Facing federal pressure because of a growing ozone problem, the state Sunday approved the first-ever statewide
emissions controls on the booming oil and gas industry.
Members of the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission said the new rules would reduce emissions by 68 percent from tanks that collect the liquids and other byproducts. They will take effect next May if the
Legislature approves them.
An environmental group said it would have liked lower limits but was content. "But this is the first emission regulation rule (on oil and gas companies) in the state ever," said Bruce Baizel, staff lawyer for the Durango-based Oil and Gas Accountability Project.
But other environmental groups criticized the decision not to adopt rules as stringent as those along the
Front Range, from the Denver area north.
"We do not understand why the industry is allowed to pollute the Western Slope but held to a higher standards on the Front Range," said Duke Cox a Garfield County resident and member of the Western Colorado Congress.
The commission said it would conduct annual reviews of the level of emissions, when the tanks are vented, and the health impacts of the industry.
Commissioners also considered tougher ozone regulations for the oil and gas industry in a nine-county area stretching from the south Denver area to parts of Larimer and Weld counties. After 44 years of restrictions ranging from the banning of trash burning to pollution controls on cars, it had appeared the area's notorious brown cloud was history.
Officials, who four years ago said the smog problem was gone, say the booming oil and gas industry has brought it back and it is a problem in western Colorado as well. Ozone, a primary component of smog, is a colorless gas and is itself a threat to people with asthma and children.
Mike Silverstein, manager of planning and policy for the state air pollution control division, has said much of the problem stems from oil and gas wells. And the problem is expected to worsen without new controls.
The state had predicted emissions of 146 tons a day by next year, but revised that upward to 233 tons. The emissions react with sunlight to form ozone.
The industry says it is being unfairly singled out. Officials counter that emissions from other sources have declined, and local communities also support emission controls.
The Environmental Protection Agency has given the state until July to come up with a plan to reduce ozone along the populous Front Range. Meanwhile, rising energy demand has led to increased drilling north of Denver.
The EPA has agreed to put off declaring the Front Range and other communities in violation of the Clean Air Act if they meet certain milestones.
Colorado is headed toward a record 4,650 permits for new oil and gas wells this year, up 6.5 percent from the record set last year.
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