Oil, gas industry faces new crackdown on emissions

Polis orders new rules to bring state in line with federal standards

The state’s oil and gas industry will face new rules cracking down on emissions as the state battles to bring the Denver area and northern Colorado into line with federal air-quality standards.

Gov. Jared Polis announced Thursday that the state will develop “the most ambitious rule in Colorado’s history” to cut nitrogen oxide emissions, which form ground-level ozone pollution. State regulators believe they will be the first of their kind in the nation.

The state has passed a series of new oil and gas rules, including ones requiring cuts in methane emissions, since a 2019 law mandated a change in how the industry is regulated. However, Polis said the industry still has a significant impact on the state’s air quality and greenhouse-gas emissions.

This year, oil and gas production is projected to be the largest contributor of ozone-causing emissions in the part of the Front Range classified as “severe” violators of federal air quality standards, according to a state plan to comply with federal regulations. Polis said estimates show that oil and gas production is responsible for roughly 40% of the total ozone pollution in the Denver area.

“These would be substantial reductions in nitrogen oxides, which means lower ozone levels across the Denver metro area rapidly,” Polis said during a call with The Denver Post.

But the reductions are achievable with today’s technology, Polis said. One way to cut the emissions is to use electric rather than diesel engines at well sites, he added.

Other sources of nitrogen oxides are vehicles, other industrial operations and wildfires. Nitrogen oxides form ground-level ozone when exposed to sunlight.

Ozone is typically higher in the summer and health risks include trouble breathing and increased asthma attacks. State health officials issue ozone alerts, warning of unhealthy conditions and urging people to drive less and refuel or mow after 5 p.m. A reading in the summer of 2021 was 48% higher than the federal limit.

Nitrogen oxide emissions haven’t been subject to “steady, measurable emissions reductions,” Polis said. The governor wants the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to write new rules by the end of 2024.

The goal is for companies operating in the area out of compliance with air-quality standards to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by at least 30% in 2025 and at least 50% in 2030, based on 2017 levels.

Jeff Robbins, chairman of the oil and gas commission, said the COGCC works with the health department to look at what can be done to address ozone if oil and gas production occurs during the summer. The health department has a series of management practices it asks companies to consider.

“Right now a lot of that is volitional and this direction will tell the commission that we will go ahead and codify the best practices so we can ensure that the oil and gas development is carrying its water with regard to ozone,” Robbins said.

Robbins noted Polis has also asked the state agencies to develop incentives to encourage companies to go above and beyond the goals.

Polis said his order builds on the state’s “nation-leading efforts” to address climate change by reducing heat-trapping gasses and increasing the use of renewable energy. On the transportation side, his administration’s goal is to have nearly 1 million electric vehicles on Colorado’s roads by 2030.