Methane is a silent killer. We could prevent 225,000 premature deaths by reducing anthropogenic methane emissions by 45% this decade. At 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide in trapping heat in the short-term, methane is a major driver of climate change and is augmenting a public health crisis. 

As a family physician, I encourage our state leaders to act swiftly to reduce additional methane pollution so Colorado communities can truly live healthy lives – avoiding asthma attacks from degraded air quality, saving hours of lost work from extreme heat, and other avoidable health impacts of climate change.

Too often, our Western Slope communities feel put on the back burner, especially when it comes to air quality issues. While the Front Range’s ozone pollution crisis is alarming and needs to be solved (this includes lowering methane emissions, which lead to warmer conditions that worsen ground-level ozone), recent data show that methane leak rates on the Western Slope are higher than our Front Range neighbors, pointing to the need for statewide solutions.

Oil and gas operations are Colorado’s leading source of methane pollution (60%). While Colorado has consistently set the standard for regulating oil and gas methane emissions in the past, it is critical that our state remain a leader in this space by rapidly implementing federal requirements published by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in March 2024. 

Per this new EPA methane rule, Colorado must submit a state plan by March 2026 outlining its implementation approach, with a compliance deadline of three years. One requirement Colorado must fulfill is to eliminate existing natural gas-emitting pneumatic controllers by phasing-in non-emitting alternatives. Pneumatic controllers open and close valves that regulate important process parameters like temperature and pressure and are ubiquitous in the oil and gas industry. Collectively, these devices make up the second largest source of methane pollution in Colorado. 

However, according to the Air Pollution Control Division’s (APCD) own Oil and Natural Gas Annual Emissions Inventory Reporting (ONGAEIR) database, in 2023 over 53% of natural gas emitting process controllers and 69% of their methane emissions were found in oil and gas producing regions outside the Denver Metro/Northern Front Range ozone nonattainment area. Therefore it is critical that any phase-in approach must be consistent and equitable statewide, and not continue old habits that neglect to protect Western Slope communities. 

The good news is that Colorado will have the opportunity to once again lead our country in methane mitigation in the February 2025 Air Quality Control Commission (AQCC) ozone control strategy rulemaking hearing. Since eliminating natural gas-emitting pneumatic controllers is both an EPA requirement and ozone reduction goal, AQCC should adopt a rapid and equitable timeline to phase in non-emitting pneumatic controllers statewide. This is critical to ensuring that everyone can benefit from the urgent need to meaningfully reduce health-harming climate pollution.

Prioritizing this measure in the 2025 ozone rulemaking will mean less climate pollution, more jobs, a robust economy, and most importantly, a chance for all our communities to live healthy lives. 

Dr. Maria Chansky specializes in family medicine in Glenwood Springs, CO. She advocates for solutions to the climate crisis for the sake of public health with Healthy Air & Water Colorado (HAWC), a Colorado-based nonprofit.