Earlier this month, over 120 people packed the standing-room-only La Plata County chamber to support stronger, statewide methane regulations. Fifty -our citizens raised their voices and testified in the interest of our health and climate. We are grateful to the Air Quality Control Commission for heeding our concerns and – on Dec. 19 – unanimously passing a historic rule-making that will mandate stronger Leak Detection and Repair standards for the oil & gas industry and reduce volatile organic compounds (ozone precursors) in our air.
Living in the Four Corners methane hot spot, hazardous pollution stemming from oil and gas wells is a daily part of our lives. I have seen the impacts of methane emissions on our community and recognize their danger. The invisible greenhouse gas endangers our health while amplifying the effects of climate change – methane is 84 times more damaging to our atmosphere, in terms of heat-trapping, than carbon dioxide.
Methane clouds are usually associated with urban areas, but this one, the largest in the country at 2,500 square miles, is rural.
With the dramatic increase in fracking and associated fugitive emissions, methane is now a rural health issue in the very communities that are least equipped to deal with its impacts.
Researchers at Colorado State have documented oil and gas industry-caused asthma attacks in children directly related to the number of fracking wells. Colorado ranks third in the nation with upwards of 32,000 such attacks annually. These statistics beg for robust, expanded public protections.
It is interesting to me that the term “regulations” is sometimes used negatively by industry and by those who favor small government. The term “protections” can, in my opinion, be used instead when, as in this case, enforceable industry standards are necessary to protect public health and the environment.
It is imperative that the rules be applied statewide. New rules were introduced to the Front Range in 2017 as it was chronically out of compliance with ozone standards (as a direct result of fracking activity), yet the Western Slope – to which these rules do not currently apply – has been carved out and treated as a sacrifice zone.
In July, 2017, I testified before the EPA about the proposed stay on the federal methane rule, and told them about Colorado’s leadership in drafting commonsense, effective rules that not only curbed methane but also were accepted by industry.
In 2019, we witnessed devastating rollbacks to both the BLM and EPA federal methane rules. The current administration’s commitment to undermining climate policy further underscores the important role Colorado can continue to play as a leader on the national stage.
According to Keating Research, the oil and gas industry in Colorado favors our stricter rules that require them to find and fix methane leaks. These rules improve efficiency and worker safety while decreasing methane pollution, and the costs are minimal if not outweighed by the increased revenue from captured natural gas.
The methane rule-making is a no-nonsense, simple solution that holds oil and gas accountable to increased safety and inspection standards.
Moreover, with the upcoming rule-making for Colorado Senate Bill 181–- the new, comprehensive oil and gas bill prioritizing public health, wildlife and the environment – it is time for the AQCC to extend regulations to include fracking activity that is done in proximity to homes and schools.
On Nov. 5, there was a benzene-level spike next to Bella Romero Academy in Greeley. It was not announced until Nov. 25, and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has not been able to pinpoint the source despite the fact that the school is 1,200 feet from a producing well pad.
I find it unacceptable that a school was exposed to high levels of a carcinogen and furthermore that the public was not informed for almost three weeks. I wonder how the parents of these students feel. Certainly they would like protections for their children’s health, as any of us would.
Thank you to the AQCC for traveling to Durango and really hearing what Western Slope Coloradans have to say. I encourage the Commissioners to build off this precedent and be bold when it comes to SB 181 implementation. Now is the time for simple, achievable reforms to address a rampant but preventable public health crisis in our state.
Lauri Costello is a retired physician. She lives in Durango.
