Colorado
Colorado to strengthen plan to protect views at Rocky Mountain National Park, sidestepping Sierra Club lawsuit
Colorado will meet revised federal deadlines to strengthen regional haze plans that shield views in Rocky Mountain Nationwide Park and different western treasures, state officers and environmental teams say, sidestepping a brand new Sierra Membership lawsuit demanding sanctions on Colorado and dozens extra states.
The Sierra Membership lawsuit says the Environmental Safety Company did not implement regional haze deadlines final 12 months that required updates from states on enhancing air high quality, and that the company ignored a statutory deadline of Jan. 31 to formally name out the states as overdue.
However Colorado air air pollution officers say they’ve submitted their regional haze enchancment plan to the legislature for overview, there have been no challenges raised on the Capitol, and the revisions will get to the EPA earlier than the company’s prolonged deadline in August.
Environmental teams needed the roadmap for haze enhancements to be extra strong, with earlier closures of coal-fired energy crops, extra controls on oil and gasoline manufacturing, and limits on three giant cement kilns in Colorado. They achieved a victory in late 2021 on the Air High quality Management Fee, which went past the suggestions of Air Air pollution Management Division employees and demanded extra cuts to sulfur dioxide air pollution produced on the Suncor Vitality refinery.
The Nationwide Parks Conservation Affiliation, a part of the coalition suing the EPA that features Sierra Membership, League of Conservation Voters and WildEarth Guardians, mentioned air air pollution analysts are “fairly pleased” with a few of the updates to the Colorado haze restrictions.
Nonetheless, the teams be aware, haze now impacts 90% of nationwide parks, whereas Colorado officers have delayed different air air pollution management measures together with limits on commuting at giant employers, necessities for fleet operators to run cleaner vehicles, and tighter air air pollution caps on the most important industrial websites.
In the meantime, the EPA has signaled its intent to downgrade Colorado’s North Entrance Vary ozone nonattainment space to a “extreme” violator from the present “critical” class, ultimately requiring extra cuts to the identical sorts of pollution that create regional haze.
“Backside line, there are many alternatives for the state of Colorado to make progress on air high quality, make faster progress,” mentioned Michael Hiatt, senior lawyer with the Rocky Mountain workplace of Earthjustice. “Thus far, the state has appeared reluctant to reap the benefits of these alternatives. However we hope that that can change because the severity of the issue turns into increasingly clear.”
Additionally laudable within the regional haze replace, Hiatt mentioned, is the inclusion of dates for voluntary closure of extra coal-fired crops within the state. Itemizing them within the EPA submitting makes the dates federally enforceable, Hiatt mentioned. The listing contains: Martin Drake Models 6 and seven, Comanche Unit 1 by Dec. 31; Craig Unit 1 and Comanche Unit 2 by Dec. 31, 2025; Craig Unit 2 by Sept. 30, 2028; and, Craig Unit 3, Nixon Unit 1 and Rawhide Unit 1 by Dec. 31, 2029.
Colorado environmental teams additionally famous the EPA’s latest growth of its “good neighbor” air air pollution limits past conventional jap states following the coverage, however didn’t predict imminent adjustments. The Clear Air Act permits the EPA to require air pollution cuts in states upwind of Colorado if they’re contributing to Colorado exceeding federal caps. The EPA mentioned winds are bringing extra Wyoming air pollution to Colorado, worsening the ozone.
“That’s a brand new problem for the West, on an extended timeframe, and it might theoretically require some upwind states to scale back emissions,” Hiatt mentioned. “However the overwhelming majority of air high quality enhancements we’d like are going to have to come back from actions the state of Colorado takes.”
The EPA’s regional haze guidelines are supposed to shield and slowly enhance sightlines at so-called “Class 1” out of doors sights, from nationwide parks to wilderness areas to necessary fish and wildlife areas, a lot of them within the West. “Regional” means states are instructed to take a look at all the massive sources of pollution like sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide that react within the air to create haze, on the understanding that smokestacks ship plumes a whole lot of miles throughout western open skies.
States should develop an implementation plan exhibiting how pollution will likely be lower over time in a schedule set by the EPA that runs by way of 2064. The plans are allowed to include anticipated haze discount advantages from different state efforts, comparable to Colorado’s a number of greenhouse gasoline discount legal guidelines of latest years.
State air high quality commissions may also use the regional haze replace to problem new pollution-cutting laws particularly to hurry up haze discount if know-how and environmental lobbying pushes them to maneuver quicker.
The adjustments required of Suncor might make a distinction in Colorado air, Hiatt mentioned. The state plan provides the oil refinery two methods to conform at its Sulfur Restoration Unit No. 3. It may well “optimize” present operations by late 2023, lowering sulfur dioxide by an estimated 18 tons per 12 months, or make an gear retrofit by late 2028 that would scale back emissions by practically 28 tons a 12 months.
