As CDPHE weighs new landfill rules, advocates highlight public health, climate benefits of stronger landfill methane emissions standards
MEDIA CONTACT:
Annette McDermott
annette.mcdermott@sunstonestrategies.org
DENVER — A coalition of health, environmental justice, and climate advocates today testified at a public participation meeting before the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) urging the agency to deliver cleaner air and meet Colorado’s climate goals by adopting common-sense landfill methane standards. This public participation meeting comes on the heels of a new analysis highlighting how Colorado can cost-effectively reduce methane emissions from landfills by requiring landfill operators to use best-in-class cover practices and improve and expand gas collection and control systems.
As CDPHE’s Air Pollution Control Division is set to propose a suite of new landfill methane standards in 2025, advocates highlighted how raising the bar for landfill management can provide relief to nearby communities that bear the brunt of air and water pollution from these facilities. In 2022, landfills emitted more than 6.2 million metric tons of methane, 20% more than the coal mining industry. Not only does methane pollution from landfills undermine Colorado’s ambitious climate goals, methane leaks are often accompanied by pollutants such as sulfur dioxide, benzene, and toluene that can cause itchy eyes, nausea, and headaches, and increase the risk of cancer.
In addition, advocates urged CDPHE to adopt protective clean air standards ensuring landfill operators adopt smart technology to quickly detect and mitigate large methane leaks from landfills. States like Pennsylvania have proven the immediate benefits of this technology, cutting landfill methane emissions by 37% just weeks after detecting large methane plumes via nine aerial flights.
Below are statements from the coalition urging CDPHE to adopt a strong landfill methane rule:
“Whether Colorado can get a handle on methane emissions, a greenhouse gas 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide in the short term, will make or break whether the state can meet its ambitious climate goals. While Colorado has made strides in tackling methane from the oil and gas industry, the state’s landfills are emitting massive amounts of industrial methane with very little oversight.” said Katherine Blauvelt, Circular Economy Director at Industrious Labs. “By adopting common-sense standards that raise the bar for how Colorado landfills are operated today, CDPHE can not only take a giant leap toward the state’s climate goals, but establish Colorado as a national climate leader.”
“Waste issues are climate issues,” said Suzanne Jones, Executive Director of Eco-Cycle. “Eco-Cycle and our allies work every day to keep food scraps and yard trimmings out of landfills to avoid methane emissions in the first place. In addition, this rulemaking is a tremendous opportunity for Colorado to address the methane pollution that comes from organics already buried in landfills – and to be a national leader for other states in the process. Colorado already employs nation-leading technology to monitor and regulate methane from oil and gas operations; Eco-Cycle and our allies are rooting for an ambitious regulatory update that applies this latest technology to methane from landfills as well.”
“Methane pollution from landfills is a significant contributor to climate change which is causing dangerous and costly impacts like increased flooding and wildfires that put people at risk,” said Edwin LaMair, Senior Attorney, Environmental Defense Fund. “Colorado has the opportunity to build from its experience with the oil and gas sector and develop nation-leading methane standards for landfills that protect communities and help the state achieve its climate targets. We urge state officials to move forward swiftly with this critical effort.”
“Methane emissions from landfills are not just a climate issue—they are a public health threat for the communities living nearby,” said Laurie Anderson, Colorado Field Organizer at Moms Clean Air Force. “These facilities release harmful pollutants that can poison our water, harm our lungs, and drive ozone pollution across the state. Without stronger standards from our state regulators, nearby families—especially children, whose little lungs are more vulnerable to air pollution—will continue to pay the price. Every Coloradan deserves to breathe clean air.”
“Reducing methane and air pollution from landfills is a critical public health intervention,” said Dr. Robin Richard, internal medicine physician and Healthy Air & Water Colorado Advocate from Southwest Colorado. “Every person’s good health is inseparable from the air we breathe. Colorado has an opportunity right now to be an innovative leader in reducing the harmful effects of methane and other pollutants from landfills with commonsense, effective regulations, which will directly improve public health outcomes.”
“Regulators must implement comprehensive, multilevel solutions to effectively and efficiently capture and reduce methane emissions,” said Brian Loma, Hazardous Waste and Materials Diversion Advocate for GreenLatinos Colorado. “In the long term, the most impactful strategies will involve innovative approaches to eliminating emissions entirely, improving air quality for disproportionately impacted communities, many of which are located within a mile of landfills.”