350CO has been hard at work the last few months pushing for the strongest possible implementation of fracking and climate legislation (SB 19-181 and HB 19-1261), by participating as a party in rulemaking hearings at the Air Quality Control Commission (AQCC) and Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC). We need your help for the greatest impact!

There are several opportunities to take action this month, so we’ve condensed info for getting involved below. While 350 Colorado is at the table to advocate for maximum environmental protections for public health and safety, it will take as many people as possible making their voices heard for these Commissioners to take our demands seriously.

Five action opportunities this month and how you can participate:

Take Action at the Air Quality Control Commission (AQCC): The AQCC is the statewide agency responsible for developing air pollution control policy, regulating pollution sources, and conducting hearings involving violations of the state’s air pollution laws.

1. September 17th, 9 am – Sign up today to speak at the AQCC Monthly Meeting & Public Hearing!

   • Registration for public comment opens today at 8 am at this link! Registration is required to speak and fills up fast, so we encourage you to sign up as soon as possible. (If you only plan to attend, register here instead.)

   • You can find our sample talking points here.

   • Spread the word: RSVP here to the Facebook event here & invite 5-10 of your friends!

   • If you can’t sign up for oral comment, you can also submit comments via email here:  cdphe.aqcc-comments@state.co.us

   • Background: Last year, legislation was passed in Colorado to address the climate crisis and curb emissions that not only contribute to climate change, but also adversely impact air quality and contribute pollution that is harmful to respiratory health. Thus far, the AQCC has not met its statutory requirement to develop rules that will enable Colorado to meet these new GHG emissions reduction goals. Part of the process to implement these rules is considering public comment.

2. September 17th, 4:30-7:30 pm –  Offer public comment for the AQCC Regulation Number 7 Rulemaking Hearing: Please sign up to speak today!

   • *Registration for this public hearing also opens today at 8 am at this link! Required registration will fill up fast, so we encourage you to sign up as soon as possible*

   • You can find our talking points here.

   • Spread the word – RSVP to the Facebook event here and invite 5-10 of your friends!

   • Background: The AQCC is making revisions to proposed Regulation Number 7, which concerns proposed state-only revisions addressing certain aspects of SB19-181 related to ambient monitoring of emissions at oil and gas facilities that go through pre-production operations. This includes consideration of ways to strengthen the proposed provisions regarding requirements on the frequency of monitoring, the pollutants included in the monitoring, and the public disclosure of monitoring data. Reg. 7 is also related to the control of emissions from natural gas-fired reciprocating internal combustion engines, oil and gas flowback tanks, and oil loadout at underground injection facilities, as well as co-benefits to Regional Haze, ozone, and Rocky Mountain National Park nitrogen deposition.

3. September 18th: Submit a written comment to The AQCC Greenhouse Gas Strategy Subcommittee (due by Sept. 18). We need the GHG Subcommittee to take aggressive action to meet and exceed our state’s goals and to understand that oil and gas must be a key part of a greenhouse gas emissions reduction strategy in Colorado!

   • Please submit comments to cdphe.aqcc-comments@state.co.us with the following subject line: GHG SUBCOMMITTEE. We’ve included a sample email to send to the GHG Strategy Subcommittee. See https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/cdphe/aqcc for links to documents related to this subcommittee and info about the AQCC.

4. September 25th at 8 am: Attend the AQCC GHG Strategy Subcommittee online. The GHG Strategy Subcommittee is figuring out a strategy for how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the State. No meeting link or registration is available yet, so check our Facebook event for updated details and meeting registration links.

Take Action at the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC): The COGCC regulates the development and production of oil and gas in Colorado. Due to the passage of SB 19-181, they have been given the mandate to regulate in a manner that protects public health, safety, welfare, the environment and wildlife resources. It is up to us to help keep them accountable!

5. September 18th at 5 pm: Submit your written commentson the 800/900/1200 Rulemaking Series (due by Sept. 18). You can find a sample email and talking points to send here. Submit your written comments to DNR_COGCC.Rulemaking@state.co.us. The subject line must include ‘800/900/1200 Rulemaking’. (Visit https://cogcc.state.co.us/#/home to find the link to attend the virtual hearing on the 800,900,1200 series, which begins on September 28th.)

Thank you so much for taking action on fracking and climate today! It will take all us to build the power we need to create meaningful change on this critical issue.

Best,

Michaela Mujica-Steiner

P.S. If you would like to join 350CO’s COGCC and AQCC rulemaking committees, click here.