Pumping PFAS into Sand Creek

Suncor’s water permits were renewed most recently in 2012 and are supposed to be updated every five to seven years. However, the state health department did not start the current renewal process until 2021. It took almost three years to craft the latest permit because of the extensive number of public hearings the state held and because it issued more than one request for information from Suncor, Oeth said.

“All of that is to make sure that with these more stringent requirements that we got it right and that we’re going to withstand any challenges,” she said.

The amount of PFAS that Suncor is allowed to discharge has been a growing concern within environmental circles. Sand Creek was listed in 2019 as one of Colorado’s PFAS hot spots because of the chemicals that run into the water from the refinery.

The new permit will limit Suncor’s PFAS discharges to 70 parts per trillion per day at each wastewater outfall. Suncor has until May 1, 2027, to get into compliance at Outfall 20.

But it must comply with the 70-parts-per-trillion limit at three other wastewater outfalls by May 1, 2025, Beekman said.

Suncor was given extra time to comply with the PFAS limits based on “technological feasibility and potential for needed infrastructure changes,” Beekman said. But those provisions would be included in the next renewal of the permit.

“Compliance schedules in permits require that new limits are met as soon as technically feasible,” Beekman wrote in an email to The Denver Post. “Sometimes, compliance schedules exceed the five-year

term of the permit.”

When Suncor’s last permits were issued, there were no regulations for PFAS, and since the state began drafting the refinery’s newest permit, the guidance on those chemicals has changed as scientists learn more.

PFAS compounds do not break down, and they accumulate in the human body when people drink water or eat food contaminated by them. The EPA says they can lower women’s fertility, lead to developmental delays in children and cause cancer in the kidneys, prostate and testicles, among other health problems.

Last year, the refinery repeatedly dumped amounts of PFAS into Sand Creek that would exceed the standards set in its new permit.

For example, the company’s total combined discharge for all PFAS compounds in June reached 2,675 part per trillion, according to data Suncor submitted to the state. That would have been 38 times the limit of 70 parts per trillion for all PFAS chemicals under the new permit.

Ean Tafoya, state director for Greenlatinos Colorado, said he was pleased the permit will limit PFAS discharges into Sand Creek but wondered why state health officials ignored the most updated scientific understanding of PFAS and didn’t put even tighter restrictions on the limits.

“Suncor continues to get years to comply at the expense of all of us,” Tafoya said. “The impacts to water quality and downstream communities like Thornton will remain a priority for Greenlatinos.”

naturally found in crude oil and gasoline that can cause blood diseases, cancer and menstrual irregularities through long-term exposure. It is part of a group of compounds known as BTEX — benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene — and for the first time the permit will regulate those other compounds, Rowan said.

The new permit includes provisions that state health officials hope will prevent

Suncor from committing future violations, Oeth said.

An entire section of the permit addresses the refinery’s maintenance plans and inspection requirements.

Under the new permit, Suncor will be required to conduct inspections of its facility weekly or twicemonthly and during heavy rain or snowmelt, Oeth said. The state also will require Suncor to submit an asset management plan

that tracks maintenance schedules across the refinery property so the state can make sure the refinery stays on top of repairs and upgrades to its equipment.

“There’s a real large focus on improved operation and maintenance, which we think (has) been the main cause of spills recently,” Oeth said. “That’s why we’ve really focused on permit provisions related to operation and maintenance.”