Thursday, November 21, 2013

Colorado Tires of Drilling Air Pollution & Proposes Toughest State Air Rules In Nation

Colorado has experienced significant air emissions and methane leakage caused by gas drilling that uses a combination of old equipment that is not well maintained and the failure to install available best pollution control technology. As a result of these bad practices that had been allowed under the current regulations, the increased emissions from gas drilling in the counties gas drilling are documented and have contributed to unhealthy air quality in some counties.

On Monday, Colorado proposed a new set of regulations compelling the industry to cut substantially air emissions and methane leakage. Mark Brownstein's analysis of the rules is here:
http://www.edf.org/blog/2013/11/18/colo-sets-national-precedent-air-quality-and-climate?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social-media&utm_campaign=main-MB1118H5.

Technology exists to slash air emissions from gas drilling by about 90%, but the gas industry has not broadly implemented the best pollution controls. Colorado has had enough and now will compel a clean up. State and federal regulators should follow Colorado's lead!


6 comments:

  1. "and the failure to install available best pollution control technology"

    Well, this is actually a meta-question and not one on gas drilling technologies per se. Is it obvious that "we" should be installing the best pollution control technologies available? Not at all. We should care about the costs, at the margin, to improve our technology, against the damages, at the margin, that would be mitigated. So sure, there are air pollution issues in fracking (as you likely are aware, they are not really from the methane, but from the compressor stations burning diesel - so isn't that a diesel emissions issue and not a fracking one per se?), but at what margin ought we clean up? For example, how harmful to human health is methane? I have been poring around the PubMed site and don't seem to find much evidence that it is harmful - so we are back to talking about the GHG impacts, remembering that gas companies are "greedy" and probably have an interest in capturing as much methane as possible before it gets into the atmosphere.

    So, I would argue that State and Federal regulators follow Colorado's lead if:
    (1) They agree with Colorado that cheap energy from gas has economic and social and environmental benefits

    (2) There are clearly articulated and uniformly adhered to regulations specifying the cost-benefit ratio that is used to implement regulations.

    Call me nuts for not believing that (2) is even on the table, despite that being the most important objective for any regulator.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The assumption that corporations run efficiently is just wrong. Many corporations run inefficiently. Leakage rates are high than they should be or need be. And they can be cut substantially. Remember the air emissions are much more than methane as well. Some of the emissions cause smog and have other well documented human health impacts.

      Delete
  2. We can hope that PA will not wait until it is too late. Of course, having a governor who will fast track pollution controls and take the lead in assuring the citizens of the Commonwealth, that healthy air and water are not the "necessary sacrifice" would be a start. Day one of office? An honest assessment of the level of damage that already exists to our air and water and a real plan to stop it in its tracks. The train has left the station but with a conductor who cannot be compromised, aka bought and paid for, we can keep slow it down, get a full report on the existing condition of the tracks and determine where WE want this train to go. Our state, our resources are at risk for fast forward into a disastrous chapter in PA history-possible THE most important chapter of our lifetimes and that of our children.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I would get done during the transition work that would allow the regulations to begin the process by January 2015, the start of the term. It is also going to be critically important to get the Citizens Drilling Complaint office opened and to have the Department of Health begin tracking and other critical public health work. There is lots to do and I know how to get it done.

      Delete
  3. How does PA compare currently to the new regulations passed in Colorado? If you become Governor, can you lead us in this direction, maybe even better, or does executive power have limits if the Republican legislature does not want to require more stringent air pollution controls?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. PA could adopt the Colorado regulations without any legislative action. These regulations could be adopted under regulatory authority created by existing state statutes. They must be adopted and I would make it happen.

      Delete