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Colorado Reaches Settlement with Suncor Energy on Fenceline Monitoring Lawsuit

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Colorado Reaches Settlement with Suncor Energy on Fenceline Monitoring Lawsuit


The state of Colorado announced today that it had reached a settlement in a lawsuit brought by Suncor Energy regarding fenceline monitoring requirements for its Commerce City refinery. Colorado also announced that it will penalize Suncor $2.5 million for repeated air pollution violations and require another $8 million for projects Suncor must complete to avoid future emissions from power disruptions.

The settlement sets a strict December 2024 deadline for Suncor to finally abide by the requirement to continuously monitor its entire fenceline. The fenceline monitoring statute requires facilities to monitor for three pollutants but gives the division authority to monitor additional pollutants. However, while the division originally required Suncor to monitor for eleven additional pollutants, the new plan does not include any additional pollutants. In a side agreement, the state and Suncor have agreed that Suncor will monitor three other pollutants, but this requirement is not covered by the plan and if Suncor violates the requirement, it cannot be enforced as a violation of state law.

In late 2022, community and conservation groups intervened in the suit to maintain fenceline monitoring requirements for the Suncor refinery. Earthjustice represented GreenLatinos, the Elyria-Swansea Neighborhood Association, Healthy Air and Water Colorado, Womxn from the Mountain, Conservation Colorado, and Sierra Club.

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“Enforcement cannot be bought and cannot be performative,” said Renée M Chacon, executive director and cofounder of Womxn from the Mountain. “In order to truly move the needle away from Suncor repeatedly evading accountability, there must be increased protections to align with what the community has demanded for generations. The state has failed to protect us again with meaningful enforcement.”

“While we haven’t had time to fully digest the fenceline monitoring settlement, we remain disappointed in a broken regulatory scheme that allows Suncor to sue to reduce the protections that the community worked with the legislature to create,” said Ean Thomas Tafoya, GreenLatinos CO state director. “And while this enforcement action may be the largest in state history, it does not nearly deliver on the health improvements North Denver residents have been working towards.”

“Suncor Energy, which in 2022 alone made more than $27 billion in gross profits, once again gets away with a slap on the wrist with this minimal fine of $2.5 million for hundreds of violations over a three-year period,” said Ramesh Bhatt, chair of the Colorado Sierra Club conservation committee. “We are glad that some of the money is going into the environmental justice fund, but environmental justice will only be served if Suncor stops polluting the already overburdened people and environment around its facility.”

“We’re glad to see that Suncor will finally be required to make changes to prevent future violations, but residents should not have to wait over four years for Suncor to be held accountable,” said Ian Coghill, senior attorney for Earthjustice’s Rocky Mountain Office. “Suncor’s repeated air pollution violations have harmed the surrounding community for decades. While the fenceline monitoring requirement is finally resolved, Suncor successfully avoided monitoring its entire fenceline for two years by filing this lawsuit.”



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Dog reunites with owner after 43 days lost in the mountains

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Dog reunites with owner after 43 days lost in the mountains


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A dog named Rocky was rescued and reunited with his owner after surviving 43 days alone in Summit County, Colorado.

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Rocky, age 10, had gone missing in late December after escaping from a pet sitter while his owner was traveling.

According to local media, volunteers from Summit Lost Pet Rescue and members of the local community helped search for the dog for weeks, eventually locating and capturing him using a tip from a homeowner who spotted the dog on her Ring camera and a trap set with the owner’s scent.

According to Summit Daily, Rocky had gone from 50 pounds to 28 pounds during the time he was lost.

Video posted by Summit Lost Pet Rescue shows the heartwarming moment Rocky is reunited with his owner, Steven Maa.

“It takes partnership, a village, and donations to save lost pets,” the organization wrote on social media.

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Greer, Wooten combine for 20, Colorado women advance in Big 12 Tournament with 55-48 win over Kansas

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Greer, Wooten combine for 20, Colorado women advance in Big 12 Tournament with 55-48 win over Kansas


KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Logyn Greer and Desiree Wooten both scored 10 points in No. 6 seed Colorado’s 55-48 win over No. 11 seed Kansas on Thursday night to advance to the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Conference Tournament.

Greer shot 4 for 7 from the field and drained both her attempts from 3-point range from the Buffaloes (21-10). She had six rebounds and four blocks. Wooten added four assists.

Colorado was in foul trouble early, racking up seven fouls in the first quarter. A 9-0 run in the second quarter broke the game open for the Buffaloes and they entered halftime up 26-18. Their defense held Kansas to 36% (19 of 53) from the field and 15% (2 of 13) from 3-point range.

Kansas (19-13) was led in scoring by S’Mya Nichols, who put up 14. Her and Sania Copeland scored the only 3-pointers for the Jayhawks.

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Colorado: Will play No. 3 seed Baylor on Friday. The Lady Bears are ranked No. 20 in the country.

Kansas: Will wait for an invitation into a postseason tournament.

___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball



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Deen: Avalanche Solve Roster Needs. What’s Next? | Colorado Hockey Now

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Deen: Avalanche Solve Roster Needs. What’s Next? | Colorado Hockey Now


The trade deadline is less than 24 hours away and the Avalanche have already made the three moves that had been clear-cuts needs for the team.

They needed to improve their third pair. They did that by swapping Samuel Girard for Brett Kulak.

They needed to replace the recently departed Ilya Solovyov with a more capable No. 7 option on the blueline. That was accomplished with Wednesday’s trade for Nick Blankenburg.

Most importantly, the Avs needed a third-line center. On Thursday, they paid a hefty price to acquire Nicolas Roy from the Toronto Maple Leafs.

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These are all things that had to be done. Now? They have nearly $7 million in available cap space (with Logan O’Connor on LTIR), with an opportunity to improve on the roster they have. This is the part of the trade deadline where general manager Chris MacFarland can bolster the team, find those luxury additions, and maximize his team’s chances and winning a Stanley Cup.

So what could that look like?

Most of the season has seen Ross Colton, Victor Olofsson, and even Gavin Brindley occupy the wings on the third line. With Roy expected to settle into that 3C role, there’s an opportunity to build on the wing. Elliotte Friedman mentioned last week that the Avs could move on from Colton. If so, that would give them a lot more cap space and a valuable asset they can use on the trade market to bring in a solid middle-six winger. Perhaps someone like Blake Coleman.

Olofsson has chemistry with Roy dating back to last season with Vegas, but you have to wonder if they’d be looking to upgrade on his position, too.

That leaves Jack Drury on the fourth line, centering Parker Kelly and Joel Kiviranta. Brindley slots down to the No. 13 forward (when everyone is healthy), while Zakhar Bardakov is the 14th option.

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If O’Connor returns before the postseason, he instantly rejoins the fourth line. That would push Kiviranta out, and he’d be the 13th forward just like he was last year. Even in that scenario, I do wonder if the Avs decide to improve on Bardakov. He’s a young centerman who has impressed in limited minutes but has struggled to gain the full trust of the coaching staff.

There’s also the option to add another depth defenseman. Right now, an injury to Kulak or Devon Toews would again force Colorado to have five right-shot defensemen in the lineup. Blankenburg, who also shoots right, would be an ideal fill-in if an injury were to strike on the right side.

But what about another depth option? Colorado won the Cup in 2022 with both Ryan Murray and Jack Johnson on the outside looking in. After Girard’s injury, Johnson stepped in. But it didnd’t hurt to have multiple depth options just in case.

Could the Avs target another depth blueliner? If so, will they go for a bigger body? I’ve seen the name Urho Vaakanainen floated around. He would be the type of left-shot defenseman who could fill that role as an extra. Albeit his $1.55 million cap hit might be too large to take on without retention for such a limited role.

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