By: Shaina Oliver, Colorado Organizer, Moms Clean Air Force and EcoMadres
Date: May 14, 2025
About: Do Not Limit or Delay Health-Based Standards
To: Air Quality Control Commission
Thank you for taking my comments. I am Shaina Oliver, a Field Organizer for Moms Clean Air Force, an organization of 1.5 million Moms, Dads, and Caretakers fighting for our children’s health and environmental well-being. Over 43,000 members here in Colorado are looking up to leadership to protect their children’s health and environmental safety. This makes Reg. 30 important to our communities to improve health-based protections for our most vulnerable communities from the harmful impacts of toxic air pollutants. Moms Clean Air Force-EcoMadres Colorado chapter support Reg 30 to set health-based standards as required by HB22-1244, the Public Protections From Toxic Air Contaminants | Colorado General Assembly. However, we are concerned that the rulemaking process may be proposing to limit the scope of health-based standards.
According to the American Lung Association’s 2025 “State of the Air”, the Denver Metro region ranks sixth for worst cities to breathe due to ozone-smog pollution. Ozone-smog pollution is detrimental to developing and vulnerable bodies, putting our children and elderly at risk. Additionally, the CDC reports that over 500,000 Coloradoan’s are asthmatic, and that includes me and my youngest child.
Communities along the Rocky Mountains face many challenges to address air quality due to a combination of factors that contribute to our air quality, including oil and gas, gas power plants, transportation, and more. We need to protect public health, and we must identify the culprits to our communities’ cumulative health impacts.
Moms Clean Air Force knows that our maternal health and our babies’ health are in jeopardy when there’s no oversight on toxic air contaminants. We know communities most burdened by toxic air contaminants are the most vulnerable, and that includes our children who love to play outside.
As parents, Moms Clean Air Force-EcoMadres Colorado chapter urge your leadership to support Reg 30 to set health-based standards without limiting the scope of the health-based standards. And to not delay or push back the public hearing process from September to December as an economic impact analysis is not needed for this rulemaking. Thank you.