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Moms demand cleaner air

Group pushes for regulations

DENVER – A group of Colorado moms today gathered at the state Capitol to say they have a lot to be thankful for, including new air-quality methane regulations enacted under Gov. John Hickenlooper.

But the speakers at the pre-Thanksgiving news conference said more should be done on the federal level, including carbon-pollution standards.

The group – led by Colorado Moms Know Best – planned to deliver more than 200,000 supportive public comments to the Environmental Protection Agency in Denver. The comments come ahead of the Dec. 1 comment deadline.

The proposed standards pushed by President Barack Obama and the EPA aim to cut carbon-dioxide emissions nationwide by 30 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. The proposal is state-based, setting separate goals for individual states based on each state’s abilities.

Colorado is considered well-prepared, and a target of 35 percent has been proposed for the state.

A report released last week by Environment Colorado Research & Policy Center found that solar has grown 44 percent in Colorado in recent years, meaning solar alone could generate 20 percent of Colorado’s electricity by 2025.

Colorado already has a renewable-energy standard that requires larger utilities to get 30 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020. A controversial measure passed by the Democratic-controlled Legislature in 2013 extended a standard to 20 percent by 2020 for rural energy providers.

“If this pollution is not addressed, it will be an issue, not only for our kids’ health, but the impact to climate change leads to an uncertain future,” said Dana Gutwein, spokeswoman for Colorado Moms Know Best.

As Gutwein spoke, children created signs in the foyer of the Capitol, thanking the EPA and Hickenlooper for pushing stronger air-quality regulations.

Earlier this year, Colorado passed first-of-its-kind methane regulations that aim to capture 95 percent of emissions through new detection technology and tougher standards for repairing leaks.

The issue hits close to home in Durango, which sits downwind from the San Juan Generating Station operated by PNM Resources, an energy company based in Albuquerque. The San Juan station is in the northwest corner of New Mexico.

PNM already has a plan to close two units of the coal-fired station by 2018 in response to regional haze regulations.

Not everyone, however, agrees that Colorado is in need of new regulations. Friends of the coal industry say the rules could be devastating, destroying rural mining towns in Colorado.

“American families and businesses are already being forced to make tough choices to cover rising energy costs resulting from EPA’s overzealous rulemaking. As Old Man Winter makes himself felt across the country this week, we are reminded how vital affordable, reliable electricity is to so many Americans,” said Laura Sheehan, spokeswoman for the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity.

“With the coldest months still ahead for our nation, the Obama Administration’s actions will continue to exacerbate rising energy costs and diminished electricity reliability,” she said.

Coal advocates point out that the industry has developed clean technology, investing nearly $120 billion to reduce emissions by 90 percent.

But Spencer Carnes, spokesman for New Era Colorado, a progressive group that works with Millennials, said Coloradans want more protections.

“Those actions are seen in the 200,000-plus comments from Coloradans across the state in support of the Clean Power Plan,” he said.

pmarcus@durangoherald.com



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