Colorado Adopts First-Of-Its-Kind Measures To Verify Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Certain Oil And Gas Sites

Environmental, industry groups show support for state health department’s innovative program

The state health department’s Air Pollution Control Division is announcing a new greenhouse gas intensity verification rule. Today, the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission unanimously approved the rule as proposed, making Colorado the first place in the world to adopt something like this. The new rule defines how certain oil and gas facilities must calculate their greenhouse gas intensity, monitor operations to ensure compliance with intensity standards, and keep records to accurately account for emissions from their operations. The term “intensity” refers to the ratio of a facility’s amount of greenhouse gas emissions over the amount of oil and gas it produces. The rule is important because greenhouse gas emissions, like methane and carbon dioxide, cause climate change. Both environmental and industry workgroups played a major role in developing the final rule.

“We’re thrilled the organizations that engaged with us throughout this process came to a consensus on the final rule, making it as strong as possible. The diverse experiences and technical expertise shared with us was an invaluable part of developing the new rule,” said Michael Ogletree, director of the Air Pollution Control Division. “We believe this verification rule and the overall intensity program will lay the groundwork to better understand and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Colorado and elsewhere.”

The greenhouse gas intensity program applies to upstream oil and gas operations, which are also known as “well sites” or “production” facilities. The program includes two main parts: the new verification rule and greenhouse gas intensity standards. The new verification rule will ensure facilities adhere to the greenhouse gas intensity standards adopted in 2021. The standards become more protective over time in accordance with the 2021 Colorado Greenhouse Gas Pollution Reduction Roadmap, which calls for the oil and gas industry to achieve a 36% reduction in greenhouse gases by 2025 and a 60% reduction by 2030.

“The rule that we passed today is designed to accurately measure emissions from oil and gas operations to ensure that the industry is meeting its regulatory obligations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions." said Martha Rudolph, Air Quality Control Commission Hearing Officer of the rulemaking hearing. “The commission is pleased that the rule we passed today received broad support from the parties as well as from the members of the public who provided comments on the rule. As more work is done under the rule, the commission will continue to receive updates to assure that the projected emission reductions are achieved.”

The division referenced all available feedback and technical expertise while developing the verification rule. The new rule includes several requirements, such as:

• All facility operators must use direct measurement to inform their emissions inventory.
• Certain facility operators must use a third-party auditor to review emissions reports. The auditor must be certified by the division.
• The division will confirm facilities’ compliance with emissions standards. The division will incorporate its own aerial and ground air monitoring in emissions calculations.

The division will maintain its emissions database based on a combination of reporting and direct measurements from facilities.

In a statement, the Environmental Defense Fund said, “The Air Quality Control Commission has voted today to adopt the Air Pollution Control Division’s commonsense proposal to directly measure methane emissions in the field. While there is still important work ahead as the division develops a scientifically robust program, this rule creates the necessary framework to evaluate whether the state is meeting its statutory methane targets and ensure that oil and gas operators comply with pollution reduction standards. Today’s vote shows Colorado’s continued leadership on oil and gas methane regulations, which is possible thanks to the division’s commitment to bringing stakeholders to the table to find win-win solutions.”

In a joint-statement, the American Petroleum Institute and the Colorado Oil and Gas Association said, “We are grateful for the hard work and contributions of the stakeholders in recent months and are particularly grateful to Air Pollution Control Division staff for their leadership in building consensus in this rulemaking. The agreement reached today is rooted in technical expertise across academia, technology providers, and industry, and will provide Colorado with a sound regulatory framework to verify greenhouse gas emissions moving forward. Importantly, Colorado’s natural gas and oil industry is on track to meet its greenhouse gas intensity goals in addition to the industry’s 2025 statewide goal of a 26% reduction through the continued implementation of innovative solutions. We are committed to accurate and transparent emissions reporting and look forward to continued collaboration in the development of a supporting protocol document. Colorado already has one of the most refined and robust emission inventories in the world, and this rule allows us to build on industry’s ongoing innovation while preserving the flexibility needed to adopt emerging and evolving technology."

The greenhouse gas intensity program takes effect statewide in 2025. The division will continue to develop protocols associated with the verification rule and welcomes public participation in that work. The division is also working to launch a new aerial and ground monitoring program to help support the verification rule. The division will share details on the new monitoring program once available.