July Ends With a Bang

Yet another ozone alert was issued today for the Denver metro area, marking the 26th ozone alert this month and the 40th so far this year. July 2007 has seen more ozone alerts than any July since at least 1999, if not earlier.

And with good reason. Following today's alert, ozone levels skyrocketed again. Eight hour ozone concentrations peaked at 94 parts per billion at the Rocky Flats monitor and exceeded 80 parts per billion in Boulder, Fort Collins, Arvada, Commerce City, and at Chatfield Reservoir. Current health standards limit ozone to no more than 80 parts per billion over an eight hour period.

We've already violated ozone standards in the Denver metro area, but is that violation just getting worse? It looks like that may be the case. Compliance with health standards is based on the three year average of the 4th highest ozone readings at each individual monitor. After today, the 4th highest readings for the year increased at 7 of the 12 Denver metro monitors.

The biggest jump was at the Chatfield monitor, where the 4th highest reading rose from 76 parts per billion to 80 parts per billion. If the 4th highest reading reaches 84 parts per billion, we'll have another violation of federal health standards on our hands.

Difficult, but not Impossible

The Denver Post weighed in today on Denver's ozone pollution, urging the Regional Air Quality Council to, "take an aggressive stance on pursuing reductions of emissions that combine to make ground-level ozone."

The editorial follows on the heels of Governor Bill Ritter calling on the Council to "immediately develop and propose additional measures to further reduce ambient ozone concentrations to assure compliance with the national standard."

Could we be any closer to a mandate?

The Regional Air Quality Council is set to meet this Thursday, August 2nd. In light of the Governor's call to action and mounting public pressure to clean up Denver's ozone, we hope they come up with a substantive gameplan to tackle this problem at the meeting.

True, reducing ozone pollution in the Denver metro area may be difficult and the Council faces a tough task. But as the Denver Post notes:

While we don't want to see businesses unfairly punished, there needs to be some realization by both industry and government that this is a growing problem that needs to be addressed. And real progress on the issue is going to include some hard, and perhaps expensive, choices.

What's more, the Council is truly empowered by citizens this time around. This summer has been a recipe for unhealthy ozone pollution, but it's given us the ingredients to do more than ever to keep ozone in check and the Denver metro area safe. Let's get cookin'.

Give Us a Break

The Denver Post gave Vince Carroll at the Rocky Mountain News some prime fodder today, reporting that the Denver metro area faces the prospect of "deodorant controls" to keep pollution in check.

The idea is completely ridiculous and about as likely to be adopted as Denver's likely to elect a Republican for the First Congressional District.

Nevertheless, the article got some attention. 26 people left comments on the article--most of them hostile--meaning some conservative whacko website likely posted a link claiming that if liberals take away your deodorant, they'll be taking away your children next. Thankfully, the comments have, as usual, devolved into a spat of name calling and have lost any impact they may have had as far as presenting genuine criticism--not that there was any there to begin with.

The Denver Post's right wing-baiting aside, the article is a reminder that we can't just say we we're going to come up with a plan to cut ozone pollution in Denver, we actually have to make that plan. And people, particularly the state and industry, seem to be fretting at that prospect.

Get over it. Cutting ozone pollution in the Denver metro area won't be easy. The reason? Industry won't want to do a thing to address this problem. So, they're going to have to be pushed, prodded, and cajoled into agreeing to a plan. Sound easy? Let's just say there's probably 4-H'ers out there that would rather show a temperamental steer at the fair than have to deal with industry on this one.

But let's not worry. Any good 4-Her knows that patience, persistence, and a good, strong tug on the halter will keep any steer in the show. And as far as deodorant goes, don't forget, the First Congressional District has been and continues to be held by Democrat Diana DeGette.

Governor Ritter Steps Up

Governor Bill Ritter is stepping up, urging the Regional Air Quality Council to devise a plan to not only curb ozone pollution in the long-term, but keep people safe from high ozone in the summer of 2008. Here's an excerpt from the Governor's news release:

I challenge the RAQC [Regional Air Quality Council] to work with these stakeholders to begin immediately to develop and propose additional measures to further reduce ambient ozone concentrations to assure compliance with the national standard. The RAQC must develop a plan that will ensure long-term compliance with the current federal ozone standard, and consider the addition of elements that would further reduce ozone levels that may be necessary to meet the recently proposed lower federal ozone standard.

The Governor's call to action is the strongest we've seen from the state of Colorado and we can't tell you how refreshing and hopeful this is. It's probably refreshing and hopeful for the Governor, as well. His asthma has likely been aggravated by Denver's high ozone levels.

So what now? Well, the Regional Air Quality Council is meeting on August 2nd. It's a pretty sure bet that Denver's ozone pollution and the Governor's call to action are going to be the number one topic of discussion. It's also a pretty sure bet that they'll kick off a planning effort to develop a strong ozone reduction plan.

In the meantime, we still need to be cautious. The summer ozone season isn't over yet. In the past, as many as 27 ozone alerts have been issued for the month of August.

Exciting things are happening to help keep Denver metro citizens safe, healthy, and happy, and Governor Ritter is leading the charge. What a breath of fresh air!

Ozone and Asthma

Denver residents are slimmer and fitter than residents of 24 other cities in the United States, according to the latest report from the Denver Health and Wellness Commission.

Yet while Denver ranked high in many areas, the report also found that Denver ranked 18th out of 25 in terms of the percentage of adults with asthma. While those of us in Denver may be healthy in some areas, our respiratory health needs to some attention.

Is our respiratory failing a sign of our unhealthy ozone pollution? Well, we can't say that ozone is the reason for high asthma rates in Denver, but let's be clear here: ozone is not helping anyone with asthma.

The Denver Health and Wellness Commission's report underscores the need to tackle our ozone problem. We know that ozone can aggravate asthma, and some studies have found that ozone may even cause asthma.

Let's get the ozone out of our air and get Denver on track to be the healthiest city in the United States.

We Have a Plan

All right, we'll give the state some credit here. We've violated federal standards for ozone in our air and they have committed to dealing with the problem.

This is a significant step forward and we commend the state for responding so quickly, but what do we do in the near-term?

Even though we've violated ozone standards, the state has not proposed to take any short-term steps to safeguard our health. This, despite the fact that we're in our 12th consecutive day of ozone alerts. And even though they've committed to dealing with the problem, they have yet to call any meetings or start any process for developing a long-term ozone reduction plan.

We continue to be in the midst of a serious ozone health crisis, but all the health department seems to be able to do is tell us to cross our fingers, hope for the best, and keep the kids indoors. If this is the best we can do at the present time, then we have a serious problem.

Sure, to really get to the root of Denver's ozone problem, it's going to take a rigorous planning effort that will involve industry, the public, and health advocates. It may take months, but why not start the process now, when we know things are so bad? Why not get started on the process of developing an effective ozone control strategy, like cutting ozone forming pollution from coal burning power plants?

And in the very short term, why not take some steps to try and keep ozone from getting any worse? Like requiring the oil and gas industry to take extra steps to keep people safe, or requiring coal burning power plants to limit their smog forming emissions. We're violating health standards here. It seems the least that could be done is to keep this violation from getting worse.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment is facing a tough situation, we'll give them that. It's a challenge, but it's a challenge we have to meet. And this challenge should not prevent immediate action. This is our health at stake, this isn't arbitrary. If we could keep kids from going to the hospital for asthma attacks, why shouldn't we act to clean up our air as best as possible in the short-term?

From a health standpoint, we have every reason to be critical. We need some action here; for the short and the long-term. A commitment to a plan is a start, but until we see some details, some dates, and some substance, we'll remain concerned.

Will Industry Cop Out?

For brevity's sake, just read the Denver Post article today.

We will add one thing, however. Although we give the state a hard time for not doing more to keep smog in check in the Denver metro area, the responsibility really falls on industry's shoulders. The oil and gas industry, Xcel Energy, the oil refineries--they've all fought tooth and nail against regulation over the years.

We hope industry changes its tune here. With kids, seniors, and active adults all at risk, industry folks should be the first ones to line up and offer significant pollution cuts.

Whaddya say industry, care to step up to bat for the health of the Denver metro area? Or will you cop out as usual?

Denver Violates

The Denver metro area is under siege by unrelenting smog.

After 9 straight days of ozone alerts, Denver officially violated federal ozone standards for our air yesterday. Ozone levels peaked at 88 parts per billion at the Rocky Flats monitoring station, which put us over the edge.

A violation of federal ozone standards--which are in place to protect our health--occurs when the three year average of the fourth highest maximum values reach 85 parts per billion or higher. Yesterday's high readings put the three year average squarely at 85.

What does this all mean? In the papers tomorrow, we'll read about the potential for federal sanctions, stronger clean air rules, and bureaucrats talking about processes and progress. This is all beside the point.

The real meaning behind all this is that the Denver metro area is in the midst of a serious health crisis. Without quick action to cut smog forming pollution from coal burning power plants, cars, oil and gas developments, and other sources, we stand to put our children and families at even greater risk. Ozone is an extremely harmful air pollutant; it sends people to hospitals for asthma attacks and even causes premature death.

The state of Colorado earlier stated it would take action to bring the Denver metro area into compliance with federal ozone standards if we violated. Although we wish the state would have acted earlier, there's no time like the present to get on it. We hope the Colorado Department of Health and Environment gets on the ball here.

One more thing. We bet you that in the news, a spokesperson with the Regional Air Quality Council or the state of Colorado laments the "progress" we have made toward cleaner air in the Denver metro area. Let's get real here.

Although we've made progress toward cleaning up smog in the Denver metro area, this progress doesn't amount to much when we're still violating health standards for our air. Colorado needs to quit resting on its laurels for past air quality achievements and start dealing with the present and future and taking charge of protecting public health.

The state can start by trying to do something now to keep us from violating ozone standards for the rest of the summer. Remember, we've just violated at the Rocky Flats monitor. What if we violate at others? And what if the violation at Rocky Flats gets even worse? The summer ozone season is not over yet.

What can be done in the short-term? Sadly, we have no formal contingency measures in place, but we can get creative here. Let's start by requiring Xcel Energy to cut back its coal burning whenever an ozone alert is issued.

As citizens, we're told to refuel in the evening, avoid driving, and make sure our gas caps are tight. Well, why can't industry be told to stop spewing out ozone forming pollution whenever an ozone alert is issued?

Whatever happens, citizens aren't going to let history repeat itself this time around. With our health at stake, clean air will not be sacrificed anymore in the Denver metro area.

8 Days of Ozone Alerts

As of yesterday, the state has issued 8 consecutive ozone alerts, that's an ozone health alert every day between July 12 and July 19th. Yesterday's alert lasts until today at 4:00 P.M. and given the forecast for the weekend--hot, sunny, and mostly clear--we're likely to see ozone alerts throughout the weekend.

Despite the ozone alerts, the Denver metro area still has not violated federal health standards for ozone. Notwithstanding that, ozone has reached unhealthy levels. Yesterday, it peaked at 81 parts per billion at the Rocky Flats monitor. Health standards are set at 80 parts per billion and for a violation to occur, the three year average of the 4th highest maximum ozone readings need to exceed 85.

Even though things have been bad in the Denver metro area, it has to get even worse before we violate and actually have to clean up this mess. With 8 consecutive days of ozone alerts and more likely to come, things may well be on track to get worse.

Hickenlooper's 2nd Term and More Ozone Alerts

Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper was sworn in for a second term yesterday. In his inauguration speech, he promised a "new urban renaissance."

At the same time, the Denver area is experiencing record heat and continued threats from ozone pollution, otherwise known as smog. Yesterday marked the sixth day in a row that an ozone health alert was issued, and today promises to bring a seventh. That's a week straight where ozone in the Denver metro area endangered the health and well-being of children, seniors, those with asthma, and even active adults.

In Hickenlooper's speech, public health was conspicuously not mentioned and air pollution certainly wasn't brought up. The speech actually seemed light on any details. It seemed more like a pep rally to inspire blind allegiance rather than motivating any collaboration around tangible solutions.

Public health seems to continue to elude Mayor Hickenlooper. We're all for glamorizing Denver; it's a great place to live, after all; but let's not gloss over the problems in the process. Hickenlooper can promise all the "new urban renaissance" he wants, but without actually taking steps to address the issue of ozone pollution, or other public health issues for that matter, Denver's just going to be like most other cities--smoggy and sickly. The irony of promising a "new urban renaissance" on the sixth consecutive day of unhealthy ozone pollution seems foretelling.

Seriously, Mayor Hickenlooper needs to wake up and see the smog for what it is: a serious health problem that needs his attention. If Denver has any hope of being the most enlightened and progressive city in the country, public health needs his attention.

Fort Collins at Risk

As the Fort Collins Coloradoan reports today, the northern Front Range city is in the midst of an ozone health crisis along with the rest of the Denver metro area.

One monitor, called the Fort Collins West monitor, was first installed in 2006. Since then, the monitor has recorded some of the highest ozone levels in the entire Denver metro area. Last year, it recorded an 8-hour ozone concentration of 97 parts per billion, the highest reading in Colorado. This year, the monitor hit 97 parts per billion on June 30th. Federal health standards limit ozone to no more than 80 parts per billion.

Despite these high ozone levels, we won't know whether the Fort Collins West monitor will show a violation of federal health standards until three years of data has been gathered.

That's not to say that Fort Collins is not experiencing unhealthy ozone pollution. An actual violation of federal health standards, which triggers more stringent federal rules, only happens when an area has several days of unhealthy air. If that sounds a bit unnerving, you're not alone. One day of unhealthy air pollution is one day too many in our mind.

It's a critical year for ozone right now, but with the Fort Collins West monitor showing exceptionally high ozone levels for two years straight now, 2008 will be critical as well. In any event, the Denver metro area has a ways to go before it's clear of smog.

New Regional Air Quality Council Members

In a somewhat quiet move, Governor Bill Ritter appointed 9 new members to the Regional Air Quality Council and signed a new Executive Order allowing the Council to serve as the lead air quality planning agency in the Denver metro area until October 2008.

We've blasted the Regional Air Quality Council numerous times in the past. The Council has typically ignored public health concerns when taking on its air planning. Although the Council has launched some important public outreach campaigns, particularly when it comes to keeping Denver safe from ozone, our view is that they have generally subverted efforts to hold polluters accountable.

Will that change? Well, the 9 new members of the Regional Air Quality Council include:

• Jana Milford, an atmospheric scientist and former staffer with Environmental Defense;
• Nathan Rabinovitch, a doctor at National Jewish (who also blew us off last year when we were seeking input on the health effects of ozone in Denver);
• Andrew Spielman, a lawyer with Hogan and Hartson (incidentally, the same law firm that Governor Bill Ritter was with before he got elected);
• Rusell George, the Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Transportation;
• Jim Martin, the Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment;
• Joan Ringel, a Denver citizen;
• Nancy Severson with Denver Environmental Health (Denver Environmental Health has also given citizens the brush off when it comes to collaboration).
• Mark Johnson, the current Director of the Jefferson County Health Department; and
• Melanie Worley, with the Denver Regional Council of Governments.

Also, thankfully continuing on the Council is Theresa Donahue, the Executive Director of the Denver Health and Wellness Commission.

Certainly with these new members, the Council has great potential to do great things. But they'll need to follow some important advice: make every effort to listen to citizens. Some of the new Council members are well-suited to this task, but others may need to work on this.

Citizens are more concerned, more involved, and more educated on the issues that the Regional Air Quality Council deals with than ever before; and it will be more important than ever before that the Council work with us.

CORRECTION: Melanie Worley is actually an existing member of the Regional Air Quality Council. The 11th and final seat of the Council is being saved for a North Front Range representative. The seat has yet to be filled as of late August.

State Speaks Out on Ozone

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment issued the press release below yesterday afternoon. The release comes as ozone levels in the Denver metro area continue to rise to unhealthy levels, threatening to violate federal air quality standards.

We certainly welcome the state's attention on this critical issue. All things considered, the Denver metro area is in the midst of a health crisis, especially given that the EPA is now proposing a stronger ozone standard.

Signs seem to indicate that ozone, which is the key ingredient of smog, is not going to let up in the Denver metro area without some major pollution reductions. In their press release below, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment seems to recognize this.


Denver Area Close to Exceeding Federal Ozone Standards

DENVER---State health department ozone experts today reported that preliminary ozone monitoring data from one of the state’s monitoring stations, the Rocky Flats North monitoring station, indicated that the Front Range area soon may fall out of compliance with federal ozone standards. Four consecutive high ozone readings at any particular site would put the Denver region out of compliance. One more high reading at this site would do so.


The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s executive director, Jim Martin, said, “Ozone levels are constantly monitored and are a high priority for the department and the administration because of the health effects associated with high ozone readings. Ensuring that we attain the federal standard for ozone is important to protect public health. If we exceed the current federal standard soon or need to comply with more stringent ozone standards in the future we will take the necessary action to make sure Colorado’s ozone levels are in compliance.”


The Regional Air Quality Council, in cooperation with the department, issues Ozone Action Alerts on days when division meteorologists expect conditions to lead to ground-level ozone concentrations of 75 ppb or above in the metropolitan-Denver and Front Range region. Because high ozone levels can compromise public health, especially among children, the elderly and those with pre-existing respiratory conditions such as asthma, Martin advised individuals to stay indoors when ozone alerts are issued.


He added that individuals can take steps to help reduce ozone concentrations by refueling in the evening, keeping vehicles well maintained and not overfilling gas tanks, mowing lawns in the evening, tightening gas caps after fill-ups, and doing painting projects in the evening.

Martin noted that for three summers, Colorado has met the federal ozone standard. “Last year the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission adopted some of the nation’s toughest regulations on emissions from oil and gas development, with the expectation that the regulations would help reduce ozone levels. Those measures, in conjunction with many others on the books, are very important to manage and reduce ozone levels. But we continue to look for ways to lower ozone concentrations.”


The current federal health-based standard for ground-level ozone is 80 parts per billion (ppb) measured over eight hours. In June, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed to lower the ground-level ozone standard to a level between 70 and 75 ppb measured over eight hours, and the agency reports that it will finalize a new federal standard next spring.

“We have been watching the ozone levels closely this summer to understand how the meteorology is working with the various emission control strategies that are in place to reduce ozone concentrations in the area,” said Paul Tourangeau, director of the Air Pollution Control Division at the Department of Public Health and Environment. “The air quality professionals in the division also are working to identify measures we could take to make significant improvement in ozone levels,” said Tourangeau.


In the event that there is a fourth high reading this summer at any one of the ozone monitoring sites, Tourangeau said the Air Pollution Control Division will work with the Regional Air Quality Council to develop a plan to further reduce ozone concentrations to attain the standard.


“Once there is a fourth high reading at a particular site, the Regional Air Quality Council will take the lead and work with the division to formulate air quality plans to address ground-level ozone in the Denver area,” he said.


Governor Bill Ritter recently appointed nine new members to the 11-member council. Any ozone control plan proposed by the council, in conjunction with the Air Pollution Control Division, would have to be approved by the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission, and then approved by EPA under the Clean Air Act.


“We intend to work closely with the Regional Air Quality Council, as well as the Air Quality Control Commission, the business community, the medical community, conservationists and others to move as rapidly as we can to put new or revised measures in place to reduce ozone pollution, and to keep the Front Range area in attainment for ozone,” said Martin.

Martin continued, “In the process, we also will be looking at things that can be done to meet the more stringent ozone standards that the EPA is considering. The department is confident that we can meet this challenge, given the spirit of collaboration we have seen from industry, public health officials, conservationists and others in the past.”


Until an evaluation of ozone control measures is complete, it is not known what strategies would be relied upon in the Front Range area to achieve the health-based standard for ozone.

Information regarding the region’s effort to maintain compliance with the federal standard is best viewed on a Web page maintained by the Air Pollution Control Division. http://apcd.state.co.us/psi/ozone.htm. Tables located at this site provide an overview of the region’s status.

Inching Toward Violating Health Standards

Tonight, ozone levels in the Denver metro area soared. They peaked at levels not seen since 2003.

According to online monitoring data, 8-hour ozone levels in the air reached 98 parts per billion at Rocky Flats, 90 in Golden, 88 in Fort Collins and in Boulder, 85 in southwest Lakewood, 84 in Arvada, 83 in Highlands Ranch, and 81 in Denver and at Chatfield. Current health standards for ozone in our air are set at 80 parts per billion, so Denver's air was pretty unhealthy tonight.

The high ozone levels at Rocky Flats now put the Denver metro area only 1 part per billion shy of a violation of federal health standards. A violation occurs when the three-year average of the fourth highest maximum ozone reading reaches 85 or higher. If we were playing horseshoes, this would be like missing a ringer by a millimeter.

And what's significant about these ozone levels being the highest since 2003? Well, back in 2003, the state decided to adopt stronger clean air rules to help reduce ozone in the Denver metro area. The rules called for cleaner gasoline and reductions in ozone forming pollution from oil and gas developments. If present ozone trends are any indication, these rules don't seem to be cutting it in terms of actually keeping us safe from air pollution.

Sadly, this may not be much of a surprise. One of the most significant sources of ozone pollution in the Denver metro area comes from coal burning power plants. Unfortunately, the state has not yet required any of these power plants to cut their pollution to keep us safe from ozone.

Clearly that needs to change. Coal burning power plants need to cut their ozone forming pollution to keep the Denver metro area safe. We've crafted a proposal to do just that, and we think it's time to get in gear to get it adopted. Check it out, www.ourcleanair.org/no_smog.

Colorado Springs Has Better Air?

Colorado Springs has more breathable air than Denver, or so the Gazette reports. The reason? Their ozone levels aren't as high.

This is true on a technical level. In fact Denver's ozone levels are typically higher. It's not so true from a health standpoint, however. As the Gazette reports, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to strengthen health standards for ozone and if the agency follows through with its decision, it means Colorado Springs will have to do more to clean up its air. It may very well be that the air is more "breathable" in Colorado Springs, but healthy? Not based on the EPA's proposed standards.

It's like saying one burning house is "less on fire" than another burning house. It really doesn't mean anything to the fire department. And just like this fire scenario, the fact that Denver's ozone pollution is higher than Colorado Springs really shouldn't mean anything to public health officials. The fact of the matter is that ozone pollution in Colorado Springs is unhealthy and needs to be cleaned up.

Healthy air is healthy air and unhealthy air is unhealthy. Whether Colorado Springs has more breathable air than Denver really doesn't matter. The real issue is what are both areas going to do to make their air healthy?

More Ozone Highs

More highs, more signs of trouble.

Today marked a flurry of news coverage of Denver's unhealthy ozone over the weekend. Check out the Rocky Mountain News and Denver Post coverage. Associated Press reporter Judi Kohler even noted that National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver, a national leader in treating respiratory illnesses, reported increased complaints among their patients because of the smog.

And the bad news is, it's not over for the metro area.

Yesterday saw ozone levels rise again, even higher than Sunday's highs. Eight hour ozone levels peaked at 88 parts per billion at Rocky Flats and rose to 80 parts per billion or higher at Chatfield Reservoir, Fort Collins, Golden, Boulder, and southwest Lakewood. An ozone alert remains in effect today.

High Ozone Again Today

Today eight-hour ozone levels in our air peaked at 83 parts per billion at Rocky Flats, 82 in Boulder, and 83 in Fort Collins. That means in total since Friday, federal health standards for ozone, the key ingredient of smog, were exceeded 9 times in the Denver metro area.