Prioritizing Healthier Air for Colorado

Bea Meyer

On June 2, 2022, the Colorado General Assembly signed a new piece of legislation aimed at improving air quality and protecting residents’ health. The bill, entitled “Public Protections From Toxic Air Contaminants” (HB22-1244), updated the Colorado Air Pollution Prevention and Control Act by establishing the state’s first health-based ambient air quality standards. The purpose of this legislation is to “prioritize and protect the health and well-being of all Coloradans,” focusing particularly on sensitive and vulnerable groups, such as children, the elderly, and those living in disproportionately impacted communities. In order to achieve this goal, this bill sets three priorities: (1) identifying toxic air contaminants; (2) reporting emissions data; and (3) setting health-based standards and emission control regulations.

Identifying Toxic Air Contaminants

            The first priority of this legislation is to identify toxic air contaminants that are harmful to residents’ health. Under this bill, the air quality control commission (“commission”) has discretion to designate which pollutants qualify as toxic air contaminants. In exercising this discretion, the commission is required to utilize the best scientific data available. The commission published its initial list of contaminants in October of 2022, and it must update this list every five years at a minimum. Individuals may also request an expedited review of this list when new information comes to light, ensuring that regulations stay up to date with new scientific discoveries. By relying on the best-available science and continually updating this list, these requirements ensure that regulations under this statute will target the most dangerous pollutants to an appropriate degree.

Reporting Emissions Data

            The second priority of this legislation is to expand statewide reporting of emissions data. Within the department of public health and environment, the division of administration (“division”) must publish an annual report on toxic air contaminant emissions within the state. This report must analyze existing reporting requirements for emitters, assess the sufficiency of the data reported, and identify any informational gaps in the data. Additionally, starting in 2025, the commission shall have the discretion to change the reporting requirements surrounding toxic emissions in order to fill any informational gaps identified by the division’s annual report.

The commission will also have discretion to create a threshold for reporting emissions, meaning that companies which produce toxic air contaminants below the threshold would not be required to report their emissions. Implementing this threshold for reporting emissions may create significant disparities in the amount of emissions produced and the amount of emissions reported, particularly if there are many low-level emitters or if they continue to emit low levels of contaminants over long periods of time. If these disparities became severe, the commission would likely need to change the reporting requirements and do away with the threshold for required reporting.

            The division’s annual report is also required to include feedback from the public. The division must host two annual public meetings to receive comments on the report, as well as conduct specific outreach in disproportionately impacted communities. The report must include this public feedback, as well as any feedback from the scientific community, and identify changes made to the report as a result of that feedback.  

            In addition to creating this annual report, the division must develop and oversee a program to directly monitor toxic air contaminants in the ambient air. This program will include the development of six air quality monitoring stations throughout the state. Three of these stations must be operational by 2024, and the other three must be operational by 2025. These stations will be located in both rural and urban locations, and priority shall be given to sites within disproportionately impacted communities in order to better monitor air quality in the most heavily impacted areas. This monitoring program is also required to receive public feedback and specifically seek out feedback from disproportionately impacted communities. If necessary, the division can establish additional monitoring stations at the approval of the committee.

Setting Health-Based Standards and Emission Control Regulations

            The final priority of this legislation is to set protective health-based standards and effective emission control regulations. To protect residents’ health, the commission must examine the best available science and identify which toxic air contaminants present the most severe threat to people’s health. The most dangerous pollutants will be labelled “priority toxic air contaminants”, and the list must be updated at least every five years.

            Once these priority toxic air contaminants are identified, the commission must establish appropriate regulations to reduce the emission of each contaminant, particularly in disproportionately impacted communities that contain multiple sources of these emissions. These regulations must also be updated every five years at a minimum, to ensure that they stay up to date with the best available science. However, these regulations will be applied differently to new emitters of these contaminants and established emitters. New sources of these emissions shall be held to stricter regulations than existing emitters, in order to prevent additional production of these harmful contaminants. These regulations shall not apply to certain established emitters, such as producers approved by the public utilities commission. By applying these regulations more strictly to new emitters, the commission will ideally prevent emissions from increasing in the future. Unfortunately, by applying these regulations more loosely to existing emitters, the commission will not be able to decrease emissions of these priority contaminants effectively, and serious damage could be done to Coloradans’ health in the meantime. So while these regulations take a significant step towards improving air quality and protecting residents’ health, they certainly could be more effective.

Conclusion

            This legislation marks an important step towards cleaner air in Colorado by putting the health of Coloradans at the forefront. By identifying toxic air contaminants, the commission can prioritize reducing emissions of the most harmful pollutants first. By expanding the reporting of emissions data, the division will ensure that pertinent regulations are guided by accurate information. By setting health-based standards and emission control regulations, the commission can prevent future emissions of toxic air contaminants, and ideally reduce the level of these contaminants in the ambient air. While further action needs to be taken to improve air quality and protect the health of Coloradans, this bill makes significant progress.