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!