GRAND JUNCTION – Colorado officials have approved new rules that require air pollution monitoring at oil and gas sites during early stages of operations – the first state regulatory system of its kind in the country, the state Department of Public Health and Environment said.
The Colorado Air Quality Control Commission unanimously approved the program Wednesday.
The rules require companies to monitor emissions during the drilling of wells, hydraulic fracturing and during the first six months of production, the Daily Sentinel reported.
The newly passed initiatives are a continuation of the commission’s efforts to implement a 2019 measure that required the commission to overhaul regulations governing how oil and gas extraction works in the state. In December, regulators also adopted rules that tightened leak detection, emissions control and other measures.
The state Air Pollution Control Division estimates that the rules will cut state emissions of nitrous oxide by more than 2,300 tons annually.
