What Air Quality Control Commission members find challenging

This group has been given perhaps the most responsibility for creating policies to meet Colorado’s greenhouse gas reduction goals. Two members talk about the task

The question is asked, does Colorado have a plan for decarbonizing its economy?

The answer, yes it does, at least as much as it is possible to have plan when all the answers are not yet apparent.

First came legislative direction in concert with the governor. Since 2019, when Jared Polis became governor and Democrats gained plurality in both chambers at the Colorado Capitol, dozens of bills have been passed, some more important than others, but all guided by the vision of reducing Colorado’s greenhouse gas emissions to almost miniscule levels by mid-century.

That involves far more than replacing coal-fired power plants. It involves every branch of state government.

Some have been delegated more responsibility than others. The heaviest lifting is occurring at the Colorado Air Quality Pollution Control Division. It not only has the task of addressing greenhouse gas emissions, but also tackling the ozone concentrations that afflict the northern Front Range, in particular.

Their most recent action of large note addresses emissions from the oil-and-gas sector while also tightening the sales of gas-powered lawn and garden equipment. Polis made a visit to a Home Depot store in Arvada during March to call out this. See story here.

AQCC members are appointed by the governor, subject to confirmation by the State Senate. They first appear in person before the Senate Transportation and Energy Committee, which two of the members did this past week.

First to speak was Martha Rudolph, who has long been part of state government, including a stint as executive director of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. She has legal training and has served on various boards, including the Water Quality Control Commission and the former Oil and Gas Commission. She said she grew up on a farm near Timnath.

She has been on the air board for the last three years.

Curtis Reuter brings technical expertise from the oil and gas industry. A Westminster resident for 28 years, he has a degree in chemical engineering and has worked in air quality for 35 years, in a variety of research and environmental consulting roles that include a couple of smaller companies of which he was an owner or partner.

His local work has been with Noble Energy, which is now part of Chevron. There, he is a senior advisor for both tech and innovation.

Sen. Kevin Priola, the committee vice chair, posed a wide-open question: Did they see the role or mission of the AQCC expanding or changing as it deals with issues going forward?

The issues before the AQCC, said Rudolph, “have kept us very busy. There have been a lot of really complex, complicated rulemakings because we are dealing with very complicated, complex environmental health issues. Where I see it really changing is not just the complexities that we are trying to deal with. We always say the low-hanging fruit has been picked, which is true (in this case). So trying to squeeze to get ozone under control, to get climate under control, to get toxics that are affecting some of our communities under control, while recognizing some of the community concerns — that is always a struggle.”

Rudolph also mentioned that the state agencies are “breaking out of the silos” in which they worked largely independently of one another in the past. “We are working more closely with other agencies.”

Reuter, in his answer, emphasized “cost-effective solutions” but agreed about the greater complexity.

After confirming the appointees without dissent, the Senate committee then heard from five appointees to the Colorado Transportation Commission, another board with a role in Colorado’s evolving story of reducing emissions

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