Date: May 13, 2024
To:
Air Quality Control Commission
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
4300 Cherry Creek Drive South
Denver, CO 80246
Via email to cdphe.aqcc-comments@state.co.us
cc: Jill Hunsaker Ryan, Trisha Oeth, Michael Ogletree, Leah Martland
Re: Adopt specific provisions relevant to the upcoming February 2025 Regulation Number 7 and
Regulation Number 26 rulemakings that can be integrated into a robust state plan in Colorado
Dear Commission Chair Elise Jones and Members of the Air Quality Control Commission:
The US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) recently announced final rule for oil and natural gas operations (“EPA Methane Rule”) directs states, including Colorado, to propose a state plan within the next two years that covers implementation of the rule for existing sources. On behalf of the members of our organizations, we strongly urge the Commission and the Air Pollution Control Division to consider adopting specific provisions relevant to the upcoming February 2025 Regulation Number 7 and Regulation Number 26 rulemakings that can be integrated into a robust state plan.
Colorado has long been a leader in oil and gas methane policy. In 2014, Colorado became the first state in the country to regulate oil and gas methane emissions and earlier this month finalized the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Intensity Verification Protocol, becoming the first state to develop a comprehensive measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) program based on emissions quantification using direct measurement technology. These milestone efforts by Colorado draw global attention and are concrete examples of how other states can and do follow in the footsteps of our regulatory advancements. Similarly, a robust and speedily adopted state plan in Colorado will help protect Colorado communities from pollution as well as set the tone for states nationwide and demonstrate the urgency of embracing emissions reduction regulations.
A comparison of EPA’s OOOOc requirements against Colorado’s existing regulations demonstrate that there are opportunities for early rulemaking even if the Division requires longer time to compile the entire state plan. For one, the Commission should leverage the upcoming ozone SIP rulemakings to continue to tackle natural gas emitting pneumatic devices (also called process controllers in the EPA rule), which are a significant source of methane and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) associated with oil and gas activities. The Commission should provide notice this year for a rulemaking early next year that will eliminate all natural gas emitting pneumatic devices. Because Colorado has already made some progress toward zero-emitting pneumatic devices, the compliance timeline for the new rules should be set accordingly — there is no need for Colorado to wait to benefit from reduced emissions. Such a rulemaking would not only reduce VOC emissions, a direct precursor of ozone formation, but also address a key provision of the EPA Methane Rule where Colorado currently lags behind the federal standard.
In previous rulemakings, the Commission addressed sources of emissions both statewide and in the Denver Metro - North Front Range nonattainment area. The Statements of Basis and Purpose for the November 2017 and December 2019 Regulation Number 7 rulemakings recognize that those rulemakings established emissions controls in both the ozone nonattainment area as well as the rest of the state. We ask that the Commission pursue a similar approach in establishing the scope of the Regulation Number 7 rulemaking this November.
We also recommend that the Commission ask the Division to clarify how Regulation Number 7 currently applies to wellhead only sites since the regulation does not use “wellhead only” to define any particular “well production facility.” Assuming there are some single wellhead only sites that do not have at least semi-annual instrument-based leak detection and repair (LDAR) inspections, we recommend at least annual optical gas imaging (OGI) inspections at these sites and semi-annual OGI inspections at multiwellhead sites per the EPA Methane Rule emissions guidelines. Lastly, Colorado should consider early adoption of the Super Emitter Response Program since there are currently no provisions in Regulation Number 7 that require operators to address problems identified by external, third parties.
Please see this comparison of EPA’s OOOOc versus existing state regulations for more in-depth details. This comparison is also submitted to the Commission via email alongside this letter.
We hope the Commission and the Division take advantage of upcoming state rulemakings to get a head start on the EPA Methane Rule state planning process. Such an approach would benefit Colorado’s state and federal regulatory obligations while signaling to other states the importance of the EPA rule.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Heidi Leathwood
Climate Policy Analyst
350 Colorado
V. Sean Mitchell, MSN APRN-BC
Colorado Representative
Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments
Natasha Leger
Executive Director
Citizens for a Healthy Community
Darin Schroeder
Methane Legal and Regulatory Director
Clean Air Task Force
Harv Teitelbaum
Board President
Colorado Rising
Ramesh Bhatt, PhD
Chair
Colorado Sierra Club Conservation Committee
David Jenkins
President
Conservatives for Responsible Stewardship
Kirsten Schatz
Clean Air Advocate
CoPIRG Foundation
Alexandra Schluntz
Senior Associate Attorney
Earthjustice
Andrew Klooster
Colorado Field Advocate
Earthworks
Nini Gu
Regulatory & Legislative Manager
Environmental Defense Fund
Patricia Garcia-Nelson
Colorado Fossil Fuel Just Transition
GreenLatinos Colorado
Megan Kemp
Policy and Advocacy Manager
Healthy Air and Water Colorado (HAWC)
Hilda Berganza
Climate Manager
Hispanic Access Foundation
Laurie Anderson
Colorado Field Organizer
Moms Clean Air Force
Tracy Coppola
Colorado Senior Program Manager
National Parks Conservation Association
Jason Keith
Managing Director
Public Land Solutions
Chad Franke
President of Rocky Mountain Farmers Union
Rocky Mountain Farmers Union
Mark Pearson
Executive Director
San Juan Citizens Alliance
Jim Ramey
Colorado State Director
The Wilderness Society
Kate Hudson
Climate and Energy Advocacy Coordinator
Waterkeeper Alliance
Emily Hornback
Executive Director
Western Colorado Alliance
Gwen Lachelt
Executive Director
Western Leaders Network
Joro Walker
Senior Attorney
Western Resource Advocates