FRONT RANGE AIR IS DENVER'S AIR
THE OIL & GAS INDUSTRY IS A BIG CULPRIT
The Colorado front range air quality and Denver's will never be acceptable until Oil and Gas companies follow the law and contain their emissions (see map below for Front Range wells). Many companies regularly violate our state's law. Additionally the acceptable pollution laws for oil wells are often not strict enough. We advocate for a strong state policy for monitoring and enforcing the emission laws at oil and gas wells.
REFINERIES AND CITIES DON'T MIX
The Suncor Oil Refinery is not technically in Denver but its pollution reaches Denver. It will require state action to contain this extremely large polluter. The facility continues to emit toxins in exceedance of EPA standards despite being fined continuously for those violations. The state has recently begun to escalate fines and require stricter monitoring standards but lacks the power to close the facility.
Oil wells make bad neighbors
Nearby oil fields contribute to Denver's brown cloud
The oilfields north of Denver are home to over 60 thousand individual oil wells. Most of these are fracking wells. If not properly monitored, these wells release methane and other pollutants that can create ozone. This pollution does not stay in one place and does not have to travel far to reach Denver and exacerbate the Brown Cloud and cause Ozone Alert days for Air Pollution.
What you can do about it
It will take large organized efforts to get the changes we need to control the air pollution being emitted by the oil and gas industry. Fortunately, there are many grassroots organizations already working hard in this area. They need your help and support. The Colorado Sierra Club stands up to the oil and gas lobby. 350 Colorado and 350 Metro Denver are blazing a path toward a fossil-fuel free world as well.
Getting involved at the state level
There are two state level agencies who have strong influence over emissions from the oil and gas industry (and all industries). The Air Quality Control Commission (AQCC) is part of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. The Regional Air Quality Council (RAQC) was set up to develop and propose effective and cost-efficient air quality planning initiatives with input from local government agencies, the private sector, stakeholder groups, and citizens of the Denver metropolitan area and the North Front Range Ozone Non-Attainment Area.
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