Ozone

A three-judge panel had upheld changes to the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) first proposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) four years ago.

Plugging and reclaiming 4,000 old wells in Colorado has allowed the oil and natural gas sector to slash ozone-causing pollutants, the Colorado Oil and Gas Association (COGA) reported on Monday.

Improvements have been made and can continue to be made in efforts to reduce air pollution, even as Colorado’s population grows and oil and gas drilling continues, according to Colorado’s top oil and gas trade group.

The Denver metropolitan area is expected to meet the 2008 federal ozone standard of 75 parts per billion (ppb), officials at the Regional Air Quality Council (RAQC) said recently, but it may turn out to be too little too late, since the Obama administration has already raised the standard.

Ten states and several industry organizations, including the American Petroleum Institute (API) and the Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA), have filed petitions in federal appellate court challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed changes to the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS).

Ten states and several industry organizations, including the American Petroleum Institute (API) and the Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA), have filed petitions in federal appellate court challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed changes to the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS).

Running counter to national trends, ozone pollution levels in seven counties in Wyoming have worsened this year, according to the annual “State of the Air 2016” report from the American Lung Association (ALA), which was released on Wednesday.

Running counter to national trends, ozone pollution levels in seven counties in Wyoming have worsened this year, according to the annual “State of the Air 2016” report from the American Lung Association (ALA), which was released on Wednesday.

State legislators spoke out against new, more stringent federal ozone standards as a prelude to a stakeholder meeting held Thursday in Denver by Colorado air pollution officials who are focused on implementing the older, 2008 ozone standard by 2017. Government and business officials in the state are lined up strongly opposed to the tougher requirement.