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Group wants metro area on ozone-cleanup roster

Todd Hartman, Rocky Mountain News

Published January 11, 2007 at midnight

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An environmental group wants Denver declared a dirty-air region for ozone so tougher cleanup rules kick in, and has taken its case to federal court.

Denver-based Rocky Mountain Clean Air Action filed a petition with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday.

It challenges the fact the Environmental Protection Agency hasn't ruled that the region is in violation of federal health standards for ozone.

"The first step to fixing the problem of air pollution is acknowledging there's a problem in the first place," said Jeremy Nichols, the group's director.

Technically, the region is in violation of federal ozone standards. But in late 2002 state and local officials worked out an agreement with the EPA that gave the area more time to comply with ozone limits.

It's that extension, known as the Early Action Compact, that the clean air group wants nullified by the federal court.

Should the court agree, the region would formally fall into dirty-air status - or "nonattainment" in EPA jargon - and likely be subject to new and costly restrictions designed to improve air quality.

But the legal step may be moot. That's because regulators fear the Denver area will exceed federal ozone limits this summer, an event that would translate to a violation of EPA standards and put the area on the dirty-air list anyway.

The petition comes a month after a state air quality commission approved major new emission controls on oil and gas operators northeast of Denver. Those controls are designed to reduce ozone that washes back into metro Denver.

While Rocky Mountain Clean Air Action praised those rules, its director said more needs to be done.

Greg Schnacke, executive vice president of the Colorado Oil & Gas Association, was surprised by the petition since he thought greens were satisfied with the new controls.

A spokesman for Xcel Energy, which could also be affected should the area fail to meet ozone standards, said the company supported current strategies to cut ozone.