We're violating the federal Clean Air Act. The oil and gas boom in northeastern Colorado is added enough new ozone to our air to put us over the legal limits. We were already getting plenty from the usual sources -- power plants, cars, gas stations, lawn mowers, leaf blowers and the like. We were dangerously close to violating the law five years ago -- even before the boom in oil and gas.
We Should Have Seen it Coming
That could have caused the federal government to crack down on us and impose a plan for cleaning up our air. But the Owens Administration cut a deal with EPA: give us a little time and we'll fix the problem ourselves, faster than federal intervention would. EPA agreed, but with a warning: if you fail you won't get another chance.That should have been enough incentive to get serious about cleaning up our air. Unfortunately, two things went wrong. First, the old administration cut it kinds of close, considering the consequences of failing. Second, oil and gas prices shot up through the stratosphere causing a surge in an industry that had been somewhat steady. Drilling and pumping natural gas releases hydrocarbons which mix with other chemicals in the air to make ozone.
That new source of ozone added to the high levels we already had put us in serious danger of breaking federal law. CDPHE realized how bad things were getting a couple of years ago and started forcing gas companies to clean up their wells. It will too little, too late.
Last summer we went over the limit for the amount of ground-level ozone we're allowed to have in our air. It was a clear violation of the federal Clean Air Act. And it's creating all kinds of problems, starting with our health.
Why Ozone Hurts
Ozone in the air we breathe is dangerous. It causes asthma attacks, coughing, shortness of breath, and chest pain and, in some circumstances, it can kill people. Across the country, high ozone levels send 50,000 people a year coughing and wheezing to emergency rooms. Fifteen thousand of them are hurt seriously enough to spend a night in the hospital.Ozone is a big part of smog. It cuts visibility and detracts from tourist sites like Rocky Mountain National Park.
If none of that bothers you, there are also some serious legal consequences to violating the Clean Air Act. In EPA technical jargon we're labeled a "non-attainment area" and suffer some severe consequences. For instance, we become subject to non-attainment new source review. It's an ugly way of describing an unpleasant process. It means we'll have a hard time expanding our transportation system or opening up any new industries. Before we can do either of those things, we have to prove to EPA either that they won't create any new pollution, or that we can cut existing pollution enough to offset any increase.
The Plan
So what do we do about it? First, we have to come up with a plan to cut the amount of ozone in our air. The first step in that process is making a model of the atmosphere to show where the ozone is building up and where it's coming from. That information will help experts find the most efficient way to lower ozone levels.That modeling is going to cost about $600,000. Half of that is coming from the supplemental we approved for CDPHE. The other half is federal money.
The Department will work with the Regional Air Quality Council (RAQC) to develop the plan. They have to have it done by the fall of 2008. That's when the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission will review it. If the Commission approves, it will go to the state legislature and, finally, to the EPA.
More Information
Information about the ozone in our airA map of the non-attainment area
Today's air quality
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