Rocky Mountain News on Denver's New Smog Rules

The Rocky Mountain News this week expressed its support for efforts to reduce smog forming pollution from oil and gas developments north of Denver, reasoning that it makes perfect sense to target such a large source of air pollution, especially with Denver on the brink of violating federal health standards. Hear, hear!

But it wasn't all hugs and handshakes from the Rocky Mountain News this last week. In addition to supporting strong smog reduction rules for Denver, the News voiced its disappointment with the Air Quality Control Commission's decision to continue tailpipe emissions testing in the metro area. Their reasoning? That the tailpipe testing program is antiquated and is burdensome to motorists.

Unfortunately, the Rocky Mountain News got it wrong on this point. While Denver's current tailpipe testing program may need improved, it's still the best we got. Proposals to implement new testing programs using remote sensing have thus far failed to achieve the same results.

And while emissions from tailpipes may be less than emissions from oil and gas developments north of Denver, this is no reason to simply scrap the testing program. The fact is that tailpipe emissions do contribute to unhealthy air. While tailpipe testing may be inconvenient, air pollution is a lot more inconvenient. Ask any child with asthma.

But the fact of the matter is that the state of Colorado committed to maintaining its tailpipe testing program to ensure that Denver's air quality doesn't slide back into an unhealthy state. If Colorado scrapped tailpipe testing, it would be rejecting its commitment to clean air for Denver citizens.

Denver's tailpipe testing program may need to be replaced. But let's at least make sure we replace it with something that continues to protect clean air and our health from tailpipes.