Colorado targets GHGs, tightens air quality standards By EPN Staff The Colorado Air Quality Control Commission adopted new first-in-the-nation rules that required midstream oil and gas operators to start taking steps, effective Feb. 14, 2025, to lower greenhouse gas emissions in order to achieve industrial and manufacturing reductions targets by 2030. The state’s 262 midstream facilities gather, compress, and pump natural gas and oil from wells to downstream users. Why it matters The oil and gas sector remains an economic powerhouse in Colorado, and the state climate office has reported one study already shows the sector has met the state’s methane emissions reduction goals of 36% by 2025. Legislative and regulatory changes have added more than $500 million in new annual costs to oil and gas sector companies in recent years. Midstream facility engines, turbines and heaters generally are fueled by the same fuel being transported via pipeline. To further reduce emissions, facilities will have to upgrade to more efficient, lower-emission equipment or convert to electrification. The bigger picture Colorado appears to be outperforming the national carbon emissions reduction; the U.S. has seen carbon emissions decline 18 percent since 2005. The state’s new rule supports goals set by the 2021 Greenhouse Gas Pollution Reduction Roadmap and the Colorado Environmental Justice Act, which mandate by 2030 that manufacturing and industrial facilities lower greenhouse gas emissions 20% below what they were in 2015. The state began requiring a reduction in methane and volatile organic compounds emitted from midstream operations in 2014. By 2030, the state mandates an overall 50% emissions reduction from 2005 levels, with the aim of reaching zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Of the 20 Colorado counties where midstream operators exist, the highest concentration of greenhouse gas emissions are in Weld, Garfield, and Rio Blanco counties, according to the commission. Many of the wells in the latter two counties are in remote areas far from electrical grids. Deeper context Other key aspects of the rule include: The final regulations give operators five years to adapt. Operators have access to a credit trading process that allows them to keep burning fuel at remote operations while electrifying operations nearer to electrical grids. Midstream companies must prioritize reduction of emissions at operations near disproportionally impacted areas, also referred to as environmental justice communities. The governor appoints members of the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission to oversee the state’s air quality program under the Colorado Air Pollution Prevention and Control Act.
