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Contact Information:
Colorado Dept. of
Public Health and Environment
4300 Cherry Creek Drive South
Denver, CO 80246-1530
(303) 692-3240
Or view the Department's
Website
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COLORADO
October 2006
Colorado released revised proposals for Regulation No. 7 for both the EAC and Statewide Rule. The draft regulations sets standards for VOC emissions from oil and gas operations and natural gas-fired reciprocating
internal combustion engines. Stakeholder meetings are currently on-going as the Department is trying to reach agreement on issues associated with the proposals.
June 2006
Colorado is currently working on revising Regulation No. 7, which sets standards for emissions of
volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Regulation No. 7 applies to oil and gas operations and natural gas-fired reciprocating
internal combustion engines. Proposed emission standards for new and relocated natural
gas-fired reciprocating internal combustion engines can be found here.
Additionally Colorado and New Mexico have been working together to meet NAAQS. The two states
reated the Four Corners Air Quality Task Force to work on air emission concerns in the Four Corners Region
(part of Southwest Colorado and portions of New Mexico, Utah and Arizona). The Bureau of Land Management
(BLM) is already implementing interim emission standards in the Four Corners Region. NOx emission
limits apply only to new and relocated engines within this region. For engines 300 hp or less a
NOx limit of 2 gm/hp-hr applies. For engines greater than 300 hp a NOx limit of 1gm/hp-hr applies.
The Four Corners Air Quality Task Force is working on regulating
air emissions in the Four Corners Region, which is essentially the San Juan Basin.
More specifically, the Four Corners Air Quality Task Force has an Oil and Gas Workgroup.
A report prepared for the task force entitled, “Strategic Emission Reduction Plan (SERP)
for Stationary Oil and Gas Sources in the Four Corners Region,” details potential strategies.
The SERP’s focus is to “provide a framework for implementing a voluntary NOx/SOx,
PM10/PM2.5, VOC, and CO emission reduction program using incentive based options (e.g.,
emissions market-based trading systems) combined with company specific caps and or state
regional cumulative emission ceilings.” The SERP report can be found here.
DE MINIMIS EXEMPTIONS:
To be exempted from permitting (with no state notification requirements) a source must emit less
than 2 tons per year in attainment areas and 1 ton per year in nonattainment areas of all criteria pollutants.
Facilities that emit less than 5 tons
per year of NOx and CO in nonattainment areas and 10 tons per year of NOx and CO in attainment areas may request
exemption with notification to the state.
MINOR SOURCE PERMITTING:
Sources with a potential to emit less than 100 tons per year of all criteria pollutants will not be required
to meet any specific requirements (beyond a 20% opacity limit). However, operating and emission limits may be included
in the permit to keep the unit below the 100 ton per year threshold. Sources that are above the 100 ton per year
threshold will have to obtain a Title V permit. There are not likely to be any additional emission controls required,
but there will be additional reporting and testing requirements.
There is a 30-day public comment period for sources with a potential to emit greater than 25 tons per year in
nonattainment areas and 50 tons per year in attainment areas. The entire permitting process is likely to take approximately
60-120 days.
MAJOR NSR/PSD PERMITTING:
A potential to emit 250 tons per year of a criteria pollutant triggers PSD in attainment areas. In
nonattainment areas a potential to emit 100 tons per year of the nonattainment pollutant will trigger NSR.
TREATMENT OF EMERGENCY ENGINES:
Emergency engines can be exempted from permitting if they operate only during emergencies and for
maintenance. These units will have run hour limits based on the size of the unit as follows:
>260 hp = unlimited operation
up to 737 hp = 250 hrs/year
up to 1,840 hp = 100 hrs/year
Larger units do not qualify for this exemption, however the unit's potential to emit will be based on 500 hours
per year if the source operates only for emergencies and maintenance.
Non-utility builders of power plants in Colorado are not required to obtain approval for construction
from the Colorado Public Utility Commission. A regulated utility seeking to build a power plant, however,
requires the Commission's approval.
The Public Utility Commission does have a role in the approval of new power plants if the builder wishes to sell
any electricity produced by the plant to a utility regulated by the Commission. The Commission's Integrated
Resource Planning (IRP) rules require that regulated investor-owned utilities must acquire resources through a
competitive resource acquisition process.
Local authorities are responsible for adopting and enforcing building and fire codes in the state.
Colorado State Fire Marshal
International Code Council State Adoption Information Page
Provides an easy to use US map to locate state and local adoption of the International Code Council's model codes.
US DOE's Office of Building Technology, State and Community Programs, Building Codes Database
The US DOE's database provides a comprehensive look at a state's building code implementation and enforcement
process.
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