Air panel OKs new controls on oil, gas industry pollution

Emission rules may help region avoid federal regulation

Todd Hartman, Rocky Mountain News

Published December 18, 2006 at midnight

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A state air quality panel wary of lingering pollution along the Front Range approved new emission controls on the flourishing oil and gas industry Sunday, setting tighter rules than even those proposed by regulators.

In votes on two measures, the nine-member Air Quality Control Commission ratcheted up existing requirements for the industry operating in the Wattenberg field northeast of Denver and crafted brand- new emission rules for oil and gas operations statewide.

The tough regulations, backed by environmentalists and, in part, by industry, come as the Denver region tiptoes on the border of unhealthy levels of ground-level ozone. The pollutant, a key component of smog, can make life difficult even for otherwise healthy people but particularly for those suffering a variety of breathing disorders, from asthma to emphysema.

The commission said operators must comply with the new rules for the Wattenberg field by May 1. The statewide rules will be phased in over the next two years.

Denver, after more than 20 years of progress cleaning up a variety of air pollutants, including tiny particles and carbon monoxide gases, faces a tough struggle with ozone, which forms when a variety of compounds spewed from cars, factories, paints, power plants - even natural sources such as trees - cook in summertime sunlight.

Regulators say the new rules on oil and gas are needed if the region is to have any hope of staying within federal guidelines for ozone. In fact, the metro area is so close to violating Environmental Protection Agency standards for ozone pollution, many believe the region will fall formally into the federal agency's dirty-air category this summer anyway. Such a fate would give the EPA a bigger role in deciding how the Denver area brings down air pollution as well as give the area's image a black eye.

The new state rules, approved in a rare Sunday meeting of the governor-appointed air commission, came three days after the same panel - citing similar concerns about elevated ozone levels - backed off proposals to weaken the unpopular automobile emission testing program.

"This is a huge victory for clean air in Denver," said Jeremy Nichols of Rocky Mountain Clean Air Action, referring to the rules that cut oil and gas emissions northeast of Denver. "The existing proposal did not go far enough."

Indeed, Nichols' testimony citing failures by some oil and gas operators in the Weld County region to comply with existing emission control requirements was cited by commissioner Thor Nelson, who led the charge to toughen a compromise proposal recommended by the state's Air Pollution Control Division, a branch of Colorado's health department.

Nelson, a Denver attorney, proposed emission cuts of 75 percent from oil and gas storage tanks northeast of Denver. That's up from the 73.3 percent proposal pitched as a compromise by regulators and industry officials. Although it sounds like a small difference, both sides argued otherwise.

Environmentalists as well as Nelson noted that the tougher standard could mean two or three fewer tons per day of ozone-forming compounds allowed into the air. And when the region is so close to violating EPA standards, even small amounts matter, activists argued.

Ken Wonstolen, a top Colorado Oil & Gas Association official, was disappointed with the change, shaking his head as Nelson made his proposal, which passed easily, 7-to-1. He said the change could force industry to add as many as 150 more emission-control devices in the Wattenberg oil and gas field.

Industry officials said they are trying hard to keep up with state rules and support efforts to keep ozone levels down.

John Jacus, representing oil and gas companies Kerr-McGee and Noble Energy, testified that the industry was pushing to install 700 to 750 emission-control devices before the summertime ozone season hits in May.

"That is really working hard on compliance," he said.

But industry officials dodged a bullet on the statewide set of rules. Western Slope activists and Front Range environmentalists made a strong push to have the tougher oil and gas rules near Denver apply across Colorado, complaining about alleged health effects from the booming industry and suggesting Denver shouldn't get better treatment than the rest of the state.

Some commissioners acknowledged a compelling case, but in lieu of the tougher rules, they approved less onerous emission limits.

Clearing the air

Colorado's Air Quality Control Commission on Sunday approved several new restrictions on the oil and gas industry in an effort to curb emissions of ozone-forming compounds affecting air quality across the state and in the Denver region.

• Cutting emissions: Oil and gas operators in a drilling region northeast of Denver must cut overall emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from condensate storage tanks by 75 percent before May 1. That's an increase from current rules requiring cuts of 47.5 percent.

• New controls: Everywhere else, oil and gas operators must, for the first time, install emission controls on condensate storage tanks that emit more than 20 tons per year of VOCs. New emission controls on natural gas engines and dehydrating equipment also were approved. The new rules will be phased in over the next two years.

• More data: The state's Air Pollution Control Division must provide an annual report on how the oil and gas industry is affecting air quality across the state.

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