A Colorado regulatory panel agreed Friday to raise fees on industrial companies by as much as 67% and to implement a new system, beginning in 2027, under which those firms must report even small levels of emissions for 342 different toxic air contaminants.
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However, groups such as the Colorado Chamber of Commerce, American Petroleum Institute Colorado and Colorado Utilities Coalition said they want the division to meet new performance standards focused on speeding permit review.
The average number of days between submission of permit applications and issuance of permits by CDPHE has risen by nearly 2-1/2 times, from 165 days in 2019 to 459 days in 2024, according to data that the state provided to the Joint Budget Committee. At the same time, addition and expansion of fees on the operations of emitters means Colorado businesses are paying $12,738 per ton of volatile organic compounds and nitrous oxides, said Christy Woodward, Colorado Chamber regulatory affairs advisor.
Kristen Derr, an environmental specialist for pipeline company Williams, said her company filed an application to upgrade a compressor station in 2022 — and waited 13 months for it to even get assigned to a permit reviewer before taking another 15 months to get approved. Julia Griffin, senior air permitting and compliance specialist with Kinder Morgan, described a permit application she filed to reduce fugitive emissions in March 2024 and noted that CDPHE has spent 308 hours on it and billed her $43,000 but hasn’t awarded a permit yet.