Hart Van Denburg/CPR News
Air pollution along the Front Range seen from a downtown Denver office tower on Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021.
Updated April 2 @ 9:34 a.m.
Environmental groups want Gov. Jared Polis to remove Garry Kaufman, Colorado’s top air pollution regulator, after whistleblowers alleged the long-time bureaucrat ordered modelers not to analyze potential pollution violations and created a culture of approving permits “at all costs.”
A coalition of organizations including the Colorado Latino Forum, WildEarth Guardians and 350 Colorado released a letter to the governor Wednesday. The groups also are demanding a review of all other supervisors within the Colorado Air Pollution Control Division and a stop to all new or modified air pollution permits. The letter addresses Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser as well, asking him to investigate whether to bring a civil lawsuit against state employees involved in the allegations.
For Immediate Release, March 16, 2021
Contact:
Liz Doherty, Sierra Club, (978) 578-3699, liz.doherty@sierraclub.org
Lawsuit Challenges Colorado’s Rubber-stamping of Air Pollution Permits for Oil, Fracked Gas Wells
DENVER Conservation groups sued the Colorado Air Pollution Control Division today for issuing an air-pollution permit that will potentially allow thousands of new oil and fracked gas wells throughout the state.
The permit fails to consider whether air pollution from oil and fracked gas wells will create unsafe levels of pollution in the state’s communities, according to the lawsuit.
Those areas include the Metro Denver/North Front Range area, which has violated smog standards for more than 15 years, as well as Rocky Mountain National Park.
Is Colorado Underestimating the Oil and Gas Industry’s Impact on Climate Change?
State officials, researchers, and advocacy groups disagree about the way methane should be measured as Colorado plans to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions.Angela Ufheil •
March 15, 2021
Colorado has big goals for combatting climate change. By 2050, greenhouse gas emissions must be down 90 percent from 2005 levels, according to House Bill 19-1261, also known as the Climate Action Plan to Reduce Pollution, which Governor Jared Polis signed into law in 2019.
Achieving such a steep decline will require extensive planning, and on January 14, an important part of the state’s blueprint arrived: the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Reduction Roadmap. Compiled by state agencies, climate scientists, and energy consulting firm Environment & Energy Economics (E3), the 162-page document lays out the state’s biggest sources of greenhouse gases and details strategies for reducing those emissions.
BLM fire crews planning prescribed burn northwest of Cañon City
CAÑON CITY, Colo. – The Bureau of Land Management is preparing to conduct a prescribed burn in the Deer Haven area, approximately 15 miles northwest of Cañon City, south of High Park Road, and west of County Road 69 in northern Fremont County.
Implementation of the prescribed fire project could take place between the week of March 8 and mid-April, depending on favorable weather and fuel moisture conditions.
Approximately 107 acres of BLM-managed land will be treated to reduce accumulated hazardous fuel and improve wildlife habitat. Targeted fuels include ponderosa pine, Gambel oak, decadent grasses, and other ground fuel that has accumulated since previous treatments.
Special to the Daily
The Eagle Valley Wildand Team, consisting of members from Greater Eagle Fire Protection District and Eagle River Fire Protection District, in cooperation with the Eagle County Sheriff’s Office, United States Forest Service, Eagle County and the Town of Avon will be burning slash piles in the Wildridge Neighborhood. Burning operations will occur as weather and snow conditions permit, and are tentatively scheduled for Jan. 27 and 28, 2021. Due to the number of piles, burning operations could take several days.
Burning will only be conducted under specific guidelines established by the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control, including having adequate snow cover on the ground and acceptable weather forecasts that meet guidelines for safe and effective burning and adequate smoke dispersal.