Denver City Council: Safeguard Our Health

The Denver City Council is leading the charge.

In a Proclamation passed unanimously last night, the Denver City Council stated its support of the "the efforts of state and regional air quality planners to immediately develop a plan to reduce ground-level ozone and fully safeguard public health in the Denver metropolitan region."

This proclamation is notable for two reasons. First, it's really the first sign of where the City and County of Denver stands on the issue. And second, it's the first call from a local government in the metro area for an ozone reduction plan that fully protects public health.

In both regards, the Proclamation is a milestone, making clear that the City and County of Denver doesn't just want the Regional Air Quality Council to develop an ozone reduction plan, but one that fully safeguards public health. With the EPA's clean air science advisors calling for a much stronger ozone standard, this Proclamation sets an important goal and one that furthers Governor Ritter's call for immediate action.

The Proclamation was sponsored by Councilman Doug Linkhart, Councilwoman Carla Madison, Councilwoman Judy Montero, and Counwilwoman Peggy Lehmann, but unanimously endorsed by the entire City Council in attendance last night. All City Council members deserve a big thank you for expressing their support for clean air and a healthy city!

Denver citizens should breathe easy. We have our goal, now all we need to do is meet it.

Giving us a Voice in Ozone Debate

Congresswoman Diana DeGette yesterday called on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to give Denver and the west a voice on the agency's proposed ozone standards.

In a letter to the Administrator of the EPA, Representative DeGette called on the agency to hold a public hearing in Denver on the proposed ozone standards. So far, the EPA has held public hearings only in Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, and Atlanta, nowhere near Denver and the Rocky Mountain west.

Earlier this summer, the EPA proposed new health-based standards for ozone in our air. Recent health science shows that current standards are woefully inadequate. They limit ozone to no more than 80 parts per billion over an eight hour period, but EPA science advisors have recommended lowering it to 60 parts per billion. Sadly, the EPA has so far rejected this advice and is looking to adopt a standard of 70 parts per billion. The EPA is really only proposing to go halfway, but when it comes to our health, halfway doesn't cut it.

Whether the EPA adopts a 70 or 60 parts per billion standard, one thing is clear: the west is facing a health crisis. Rural and urban areas throughout Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming regularly experience ozone levels higher than 60 parts per billion. It's crucial that the EPA adopt strong health standards to help us in the west clean up our skies.

Clearly those of us in the west and in Denver have something to say to the EPA; it's a shame the agency has seen fit to deny us a forum. Thankfully Congresswoman DeGette has stepped in. The EPA needs to listen.

Suncor Needs Refining

We'll spare you the commentary and just say this: The Suncor oil refinery, located six miles northeast of downtown Denver, has been bad. Take a look:

• On July 27th, the Colorado Air Pollution Control Division issued a Compliance Advisory to Suncor because of over 70 violations of air quality laws at the refinery between 2005 and 2007. A Compliance Advisory is basically a notice that Suncor broke clean air laws. According to the advisory, Suncor violated toxic air pollution laws, sulfur dioxide limits, failed to operate its flares for days on end, failed to monitor its emissions, and failed to accurately calculate emissions throughout the refinery.


• Around July 30th, neighbors near the refinery reported a smoking flare to the Air Pollution Control Division. The picture below was taken by one of the neighbors (also one of our members) showing the smoky flare, which is located on the west side of the refinery. A smoking flare is a sign of incomplete combustion, meaning harmful and stinky gases like hydrogen sulfide and sulfur dioxide were spewed into the air. According to the refinery's air pollution permit, a smoky flare is illegal.

• In late August, Rocky Mountain Clean Air Action learned that so far in 2007, Suncor has reported 437.5 hours, or over 18 days, where the refinery released more pollution than it was allowed. These are called "excess emissions." Among the "excess" pollution, Suncor reported 281 hours of "excess" sulfur dioxide in the first quarter of 2007 and 7 hours of "excess" hydrogen sulfide in the 2nd quarter.


• And just yesterday, Rocky Mountain Clean Air Action spotted yet another smoking flare at the refinery, this time on the east side of the refinery. The smoky plume could be seen all the way from downtown. The picture below, showing the black wisps, is up close.
  

Suncor is a self-proclaimed environmental leader, but this latest string of incidents seems to reflect nothing more than an oil company that utterly disregards public health. You know the old saying; if it looks bad, smells bad, and acts bad, it must be bad. With Suncor, it's hard to reach any other conclusion.

Meetings Kick Off

As the ozone alert season officially ends, efforts to cut ozone pollution in the Denver metro area are getting underway.

The effort is getting a kick-off on October 3rd, with the first ozone stakeholder meeting scheduled in Thornton.

We know, the words "stakeholder meeting" are enough to make many of us doze off, but these meetings are going to be more than idle chatter. Anyone who needs clean air, which is probably everyone, has a stake in this effort and has every right to be involved in these meetings.

We're not going to lie. There probably will be some technical jargon thrown around and probably a dozen or so industry lawyers there, but don't let that discourage you. Clean air shouldn't be about jargon, it should be about our health, and we can help make it that way. Also, someone's got to remind the industry lawyers that their polluting clients really do have a responsibility to safeguard public health. This isn't trivial, with our children's health on the line, it's our future at stake.

The fun is really kicking off now.

Presenting the Long List

The Regional Air Quality Council met last Thursday, continuing its efforts to develop an ozone reduction plan for the Denver metro area. The outcome was a bit mixed.

On the one hand, a list of potential ozone reduction strategies was presented. The list sheds light for the first time on what the state of Colorado is considering, which is a major milestone. For over two months now, the state has been hush-hush as far as what ozone reduction strategies might be on the table.

Although the list is fairly long, it's noteworthy because it lists options for reducing nitrogen oxide emissions form power plants. Nitrogen oxides, also known as NOx (think noxious), are key ozone forming pollutants and in the Denver metro area, coal burning power plants release around 21% of all NOx. Previous ozone reduction efforts in the Denver metro area have entirely overlooked reducing NOx from power plants, but it looks like this option is on the table this time around. At the least, it made the first cut.

On the other hand, the Council put together a schedule of public meetings that seems too little and perhaps a bit too late. Remember, the Council was charged last July by Governor Ritter to immediately develop a plan that reduces harmful ozone for next summer, as well as summers beyond. The meeting schedule seems designed to fail as far as fully meeting the Governor's charge.

It was agreed by the Council to hold a public meeting every month beginning in early October and ending sometime next summer. In the short-term, if any mandatory ozone reductions are going to be approved by the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission in time for next summer, they need to be developed by the end of 2007. That leaves three meetings to come up with a short-term plan. And while it's still possible to come up with a plan in that short of time, most plans are developed after at least a half a dozen meetings and full public vetting.

Not only that, but the meeting schedule poses long-term concerns. The Governor called on the Regional Air Quality Council to quickly develop a plan earlier than September 2008. With meetings scheduled into the summer of 2008, can we be sure we'll meet the Governor's expectations?

Time is not on our side, but the public meeting schedule set by the Regional Air Quality Council seems to demand the near-impossible. If more meetings were scheduled before the end of 2007 (like biweekly meetings in October and November), and if the Council had a goal of fully developing a plan before July 1, 2007, we would more confident that we're on the right track here.

Anything's possible though, and although the schedule is tight, groups like Rocky Mountain Clean Air Action and others will be there to push things along. Our health is riding on this planning effort, the last thing we can afford to do is fail.

Screening for Asthma in Schools

Asthma is hard. Hard on kids, hard on parents, and hard on teachers. Nationwide, children between the ages of 5 and 17 missed 12.8 million school days in 2003 because of asthma according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

It's no wonder then, that Denver Public Schools is embarking upon an effort to screen students for asthma. It's estimated that over 5,000 kids in DPS have asthma, and the latest effort seeks to help children, parents, and teachers better manage the disease.

The timing for this effort couldn't be better. With Denver in violation of federal health standards for ozone, kids with asthma are probably suffering more than anyone. Ozone is a corrosive gas that only aggravates asthma, but is especially dangerous for children.

Ozone needs to be cleaned up, but we're a ways away from being clean. In the meantime, the more we can get a handle on asthma among children, the more we can make sure our children are safe as we work to reduce ozone.

It's hard enough being a kid with asthma. It's doubly tough to be a kid with asthma in a polluted city. Reducing ozone is more than making Denver look good--it's about helping our kids breathe easier.

September Ozone

After last weekend's surprisingly high and unhealthy ozone levels, the state has announced it's extending its ozone forecasts into this Labor Day weekend.

It's good news for our health. Last weekend, ozone skyrocketed, yet no health alerts were issued. For many, ozone alerts are an important part of keeping safe. People with asthma, for example, should probably stay inside during high ozone days to avoid triggering an attack. Last weekend is a mistake the state doesn't want to make again, and we're pleased that they're keeping a close eye on ozone this weekend.

But the fact that ozone is likely to be a problem this weekend is a somber reminder of how bad this summer's ozone pollution has been. Not only did we violate federal health standards, but high ozone levels have continued into September, which is very unusual. By September 1st, ozone is usually not a problem in Denver, but this year it might be.

In other news, Dr. Donald Steadman with the University of Denver says that if we only got rid of ethanol, we would have no ozone problem in Denver. It's wishful thinking.

It's true that any ozone reduction plan needs to look at ethanol issues. We might even need to require ethanol blended gasoline to be less volatile, which in turn would reduce ozone forming hydrocarbons. But the buck doesn't stop with ethanol; it's certainly no silver bullet.

To really beat ozone, it's going to take a comprehensive plan that tackles tailpipe emissions, smokestack pollution, land use planning, and other sources of ozone forming pollution. There's no silver bullet, just silver buckshot.