Colorado Coalition for a Livable Climate

Advocating strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions to a level supportive of a livable climate.

Colorado’s New Air Quality Rules Put Profit Over People

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On September 30, 2023

In Uncategorized

Published in the Denver Post on September 29th, 2023

As a Colorado resident, I am proud that our state has strong laws for greenhouse gas emissions reductions and environmental justice, but these laws mean nothing when regulations are not strong enough to put them into action. The rules the Air Quality Control Commission passed on Friday in the Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Energy Management in Manufacturing Phase 2 rulemaking are an egregious example of this problem.

Impacted communities have been waiting too long for real reductions of pollution and other cumulative impacts from industry. Climate change likewise needs immediate action. The Environmental Justice (EJ) Act of 2021 brings those issues together, but the rule passed by the Commission falls short of meeting its requirements.

The rule passed by the Commission, far from achieving near-term reductions, delays reduction requirements until 2030, and emissions will actually increase in the near term. This means far more greenhouse gases will be emitted cumulatively than if reductions were required to begin now and steadily decrease until 2030.  The associated toxic pollution in disproportionately impacted communities near 14 of the 18 regulated facilities will also be allowed to continue unabated until the reduction requirements in 2030.

How does waiting until 2030 for required emissions reductions prioritize impacted communities and how does this help Colorado do its part in limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius – the stated intent of the law? The rule also creates much uncertainty about pollution reduction in disproportionately impacted communities and certainly doesn’t prioritize them; there are many loopholes that allow polluters to get out of reducing pollution at their factories.

The public spoke out en masse against the proposed rule. Hundreds of people asked for better, stronger rules. Multiple environmental and environmental justice groups legally became “parties” to the rulemaking to oppose the proposed rule, and others submitted oral and written public comment. The Environmental Defense Fund presented an alternate proposal — developed and backed up by respected experts – that would have achieved greenhouse gas reductions 18 times greater than the rule passed by the Commission..

The Commission could have selected the alternate proposal submitted by the Environmental Defense Fund, or they could have directed the division to write new, better rules (as two commissioners suggested) — but instead most voted to place industry profits over the health of the people and the urgency of the climate crisis.

Some of the commissioners only seemed to care about greenhouse gas reductions when a show of concern could support weaker rules (suggesting that requiring industry to reduce emissions in Colorado would drive business elsewhere and lead to more emissions out of state). During deliberations, one of the commissioners expressed doubt that decreasing greenhouse gases was even the intent of the EJ Act (although this intent is clearly stated in the legislative declaration), and others implied that since industrial emissions are a small percentage of total statewide emissions, perhaps reducing them doesn’t matter. The amount of time spent discussing what industry needed and wanted dwarfed any conversation about the real impacts to people’s health and the serious threat to our climate caused by not achieving near-term reductions.

Several of the commissioners thanked and praised the parties to the rulemaking, saying what wonderful industries we have in Colorado and how much they learned about industrial processes. As they referenced industry in glowing terms while saying nothing about any of the other parties, it appeared that in their minds, environmental groups were not even parties, as though invisible. The relationship that exists between this commission–which is supposed to be protecting public health and the environment—and environmental groups is so far from the friendly camaraderie shown to industry it is darkly comical.

In the 3-day hearing, lighthearted banter among the commissioners, division and some parties was a surreal contrast with emotional testimony from community members who are poisoned by pollution and people who are fighting air pollution and climate change like the matter of life and death it is. I wonder how many members of the public felt insulted. I know I did.

Heidi Leathwood is a climate policy analyst for the environmental organization 350 Colorado

Xcel’s Clean Heat Plan is Less Than Meets the Eye

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On September 1, 2023

In Uncategorized

Published in the Colorado Sun on August 27th, 2023

Climate change disasters are making headlines on a daily basis. One of the key solutions is to replace polluting natural gas furnaces with clean, high-performance electric heat pumps. Across the country cities and towns like Crested Butte have banned gas in new buildings.

Building electrification is a serious threat to the business models of utilities that distribute natural gas. Xcel Energy has responded by:

1) Casting doubt about the ability of heat pumps to heat Colorado homes, and

2) Promoting a Clean Heat Plan that continues to rely heavily on natural gas.

Heat pumps 

Xcel paid the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to measure the performance of heat pumps at Colorado’s higher elevation. Engineers already understood that heat pump performance is moderately less at elevation than at sea level, just as it is for gas furnaces. The laboratory’s preliminary results confirmed this, but Xcel caused a controversy when it reported the results in a way that implied that heat pumps do not provide adequate heating in the winter. For example, in a July 24 newspaper interview, an Xcel representative made this misleading statement: “We do think heat pumps can deliver a significant amount of heating and emissions reduction in a reliable and affordable way when it’s relatively mild outside —the spring and the fall“[emphasis added].

In fact, the renewable energy laboratory has shown that heat pumps can perform well in the laboratory at cold temperatures. Out in the real world, today’s cold-climate heat pumps consistently demonstrate they provide excellent heating even in the coldest locations such as Maine, northern Minnesota, and even the “Icebox of the Rockies:” Fraser, Colorado. I can personally attest that our heat pump kept our all-electric home in Jefferson County warm this past winter as outdoor temperatures dropped to -15°F — without requiring auxiliary electric resistance heating. 

Xcel’s Clean Heat Plan

Xcel’s heat-pump comments were made during the lead-up to the Aug. 3 release of their Clean Heat Plan. While that plan includes efficiency and electrification (it’s not clear how much of that will happen anyway), its stated emissions reductions rely to a great extent on a number of questionable carbon accounting measures: 

  • Carbon offsets. These are credits purchased from others who claim to make carbon reductions that will offset the purchaser’s carbon emissions. But it is difficult to prove that these reductions would not have happened in any case, and it is no substitute for a company reducing its own carbon emissions.  
  • Certified natural gas. This is a dubious green marketing effort by the gas industry to certify its natural gas as meeting certain requirements, but with an emphasis on reductions of methane leaks in supplier wells and pipes before the gas reaches the utility. The gas supply industry should have addressed these leaks long ago. Claims that upstream leaks will finally be reduced is a poor justification for Xcel’s continued burning of natural gas. And the bottom line is that “certified natural gas” is just natural gas. 
  • Recovered methane. Xcel is referring here to the limited amount of natural gas that can be economically captured at some Colorado locations, such as coal beds and landfills, to prevent its loss to the atmosphere. The one source Xcel specifically cites is the Southern Ute Coal Bed, which could provide less than two-tenths of one percent of Xcel’s retail gas sales. 
  • Hydrogen. Despite all the hype, hydrogen is not an energy source. It is an expensive, highly energy-intensive energy carrier. To really address carbon dioxide emissions, renewable electricity must be consumed to produce, compress, and distribute carbon-free “green hydrogen.” Because it is the smallest molecule, hydrogen is extremely leak-prone, and a recent study showed that leaked hydrogen has a global warming impact that is significantly higher than that of carbon dioxide. Hydrogen is highly explosive, and when it burns it releases not just water vapor but nitrogen oxide air pollutants as well. Most importantly, heating a home with green hydrogen would consume more than 3 times as much electricity as heating it with a cold-climate heat pump.

While heating with hydrogen is extremely inefficient, Xcel’s plan to simply mix some hydrogen with natural gas to reduce emissions is just plain ineffective. To avoid damage to existing pipes and furnaces, Xcel can only mix in small amounts of hydrogen. In a subdivision in Adams County, Xcel intends to use only a 10% mix, which translates to a mere 3% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions — and even less if we account for the effects of hydrogen leakage. Because green hydrogen is so expensive to produce, Xcel may wind up buying commercial gray hydrogen (which is produced from natural gas), in which case the project will actually increase total carbon dioxide emissions! 

Xcel argues that a plan that focuses on electrifying buildings is too expensive. While installing a heat pump currently costs more than installing a gas furnace, the heat pump provides both heating and cooling, and excellent heat pump tax incentives are available. In addition, a study by the New Buildings Institute showed that a new all-electric building saves on construction costs because the cost of the entire gas infrastructure is avoided. And as more homes are electrified, prices will drop.

Building electrification is a key step in addressing climate change, and it provides the added benefit of giving us healthy air to breathe both inside and outside our homes. Don’t be misled by Xcel’s statements about heat pumps and by a Clean Heat Plan that could more accurately be called the “Keep Burning Natural Gas Plan.”

Chuck Kutscher, of Jefferson County, is a mechanical engineer and college instructor who worked as a researcher and center director at NREL before his retirement. He is the lead author of the 3rd edition of the college textbook, Principles of Sustainable Energy Systems.

2023 Climate Legislation Summary

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On July 16, 2023

In Uncategorized

Posted on July 16th, 2023

The legislature did a lot of great work this year, but also passed a slew of bills that we’re concerned will come back to bite us in the form of billions of taxpayer dollars wasted on the false solution that is carbon capture and sequestration—CCS.  

We excluded the ‘Utilization’ part of CCUS from much of our legislation, but then we signed a CCUS MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) with Wyoming, which is proud to support CCUS to justify endless drilling.

We must stop burning carbon. Period. Because let’s face it. Things are pretty dire on the planet. They’re accelerating more rapidly than even the most alarming predictions. And we haven’t even begun to reduce the amount of carbon added to our atmosphere every year. But the world spent as much money on renewables as fossils last year, we did pass historic federal legislation, and at the state level we made excellent progress, adding to our already stellar track record of attacking the climate crisis. It all begins and ends with:

Decarbonization / Electrification – 15 bills

  • HB23-1005 – New Energy Improvement Program Changes | Expands the C-PACE program and removes the requirement for a public hearing
    • Adds loans based on indoor air quality, wind/fire/flood resistance, storm water control, extreme temperatures, or reducing water consumption
  • HB23-1039 – Electric Resource Adequacy Reporting | Ensure planning is adequate for 80% GHGs reduction by 2030
  • HB23-1247 | Assess Advanced Energy Solutions In Rural Colorado | Concerning a requirement that the Colorado Energy Office (CEO) conduct studies to assess advanced energy solutions in rural Colorado. AES defined as geothermal, SMR Nuclear, Fracked Gas CCS, long-term storage, wind/solar + storage and ‘other firm energy’ sources.
    • Final bill added wind and solar + storage to the study, and includes the impacts on DI Communities and electricity costs as a factor. 
    • Includes the pursuit of added transmission capacity in Southern Colorado, particularly in the San Luis Valley and SE Plains.
  • HB23-1134 | Require Electric Options In Home Warranties | Allowing the homeowner to replace the gas-fueled appliance with a similar device of the homeowner’s choosing that operates on electricity rather than gas. 
  • HB23-1137 | Solar Garden Net Metering Credits Stabilization | Current law requires an electric utility to offer a net metering credit as the means of purchasing output from a community solar garden (CSG) and establishes the means of calculating the net metering credit. The bill maintains that calculation if the CSG indicates to the utility that the CSG’s subscribers’ bill credits change annually. However, if the CSG indicates to the utility that the CSG’s subscribers’ bill credits remain fixed, the bill provides a different calculation for determining the net metering credit.
  • HB23-1161 | Environmental Standards For Appliances | Concerning environmental standards for certain products. | Amended to include limiting gas fireplace inserts, striking general service lamps, low efficiency plumbing, and UPS’s. |Added a ton of new appliances/fixtures such as shower heads, hot tubs, fans, sprinklers, air purifiers, specific windows and doors, thermostats etc., and phases out the sale of general-purpose fluorescent light bulbs that contain mercury. Section 5 requires the CDPHE to promulgate rules on or before January 1, 2026, and every 5 years thereafter.
    • We need to phase out old CFCs in air conditioners, etc., which this bill doesn’t do. Feds just did. Hurry!
  • HB23-1233 | Electric Vehicle Charging And Parking Requirements | Requiring the state electrical board to adopt rules facilitating electric vehicle charging at multifamily buildings. | Adds multiunit buildings to those that must comply with the solar/EV ready code to comply with EV infrastructure. No property taxes until 2030, and allows for charging stations along interstate highways.
  • HB23-1234 | Streamlined Solar Permitting And Inspection Grants | Concerning the streamlined solar permitting and inspection grant program. | The program will grant money to local governments to implement free automated permitting and inspection software. Should cut the grid hookup time from months to 30 days.
  • HB23-1252 | Thermal Energy | Concerning the implementation of measures to advance thermal energy service. |  Authorizes the CEO to award grants for retrofitting existing buildings for installation of a geothermal system for heating and cooling and for generating geothermal energy through direct air capture (DAC) technology under the geothermal electricity generation grant that the office administers.Section 4 adds thermal energy as an eligible clean heat resource for helping to meet clean heat targets.
    • Utilities that serve more than 500,000 customers are required to propose pilot thermal energy network projects for the commission’s review and approval.
    • This really reduces the reliance—if implemented—on fracked gas for heating/cooling, and offers a grid-independent 24/7/265 HVAC environment for large buildings. 
    • Gives the ECMC control.  ‘Nuff said.  State tax credits for implementation in HB23-1272
  • HB23-1272 | Tax Policy That Advances Decarbonization | Tax credits for EVs & med/heavy duty trucks; for industrial facilities to reduce GHGs, for geothermal energy projects, for heat pumps, for e-bikes, and for sustainable aviation fuel; and decreasing the tax credit for oil and gas production to pay for it all. |
    • State tax credit of $5,000 beginning now for the purchase or lease of an electric vehicle under $55K for cars or $80K for light trucks/SUVs through 2025 in surplus years (steps down beginning 1/1/26) and $12K for light-heavy duty trucks; extra $2,500 for EV purchase under $35K beginning 1/1/24 (to attract low-income buyers).
    • E-bikes get $500 credit
    • Air/Ground Heat pumps and heat pump water heaters 10% credit reduced to end 1/1/24 instead of 1/1/25. Starting 1/1/24 air drops to $1,500 through 2025 then steps down; ground drops to $3K then steps down, heat pump water heaters drop to $500. Multi-unit or campus get a credit based on per ton capacity up to 100 tons and incudes geothermal.
    • 30% industrial GHG reduction tax credit up to $1M (specific methods on page 19/20) includes hydrogen, CC, biomethane, storage, CDR & DAC, as long as it reduces emissions by at least 20%
    • Geothermal systems up to $35M and for electricity generation using geothermal up to $.003/KwH up to $1M
    • Sustainable aviation fuel facilities get 30% 2024-2027 then steps down until 2033
    • Discount on Class A/B fleet vehicles of 50% or 60% of purchase price depending on weight (wow!)
    • The bill decreases the tax credit for oil and gas production from 87.5% to 75%, then steps down. Requires a study on permanent changes to their severance (the amount they pay to extract fossil fuels) tax structure.
  • SB23-016 – Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Measures | Requires insurance companies to do climate risk disclosures; Requires an annual climate risk assessment from PERA; Expands ability to add electricity transmission equipment and sets penalties for bad customer service of interconnected equipment (Solar and EV); provides 30% discount on electric lawn equipment; see CCUS for more, and:
    • Adds a 65% reduction in GHGs over 2005 levels by 2035, 75% by 2040 and 95% by 2045 benchmark, and ups the 90% by 2050 to 100%
  • SB23-092 | Agricultural Producers Use Of Agrivoltaics | Concerning opportunities for voluntary emission reductions in agriculture. |  In support of the use of agrivoltaics, which is the integration of solar energy generation facilities with agricultural activities. On or before 9/1/23 convene a study with Dept of Ag (CDA), the Colorado energy office (CEO), and the division of parks and wildlife (DPW), to evaluate the opportunities and challenges associated with agrivoltaics in the state. By 2/15/24, the task force is required to present the results of the study to Ag legislative committees. The Colorado water conservation board (CWCB) , in consultation with the state engineer, the Colorado energy office, and the Colorado water institute, to study the feasibility of using aquavoltaics, which are solar energy generation facilities placed over, or floating on, irrigation canals or reservoirs.
    • Requires the DPW to consult on the impacts on wildlife.
    • Exempts personal property acquired for agrivoltaics (like drip irrigation and alternative farm equipment) from personal property tax. See CCUS for more.
  • HB23-1281 | Advance The Use Of Clean Hydrogen | Concerning measures to advance the use of clean hydrogen in the state. |
    • Designed to support utilities’ use of hydrogen for storage and electricity creation instead of fracked gas and buying LNG on the spot market
    • Requires Cumulative Impacts analysis including comparing to alternative renewables including lifetime GHGs
    • Looks for ways to sell green (as oppose to ‘clean’) hydrogen (which we must ensure does not take place on the backs of ratepayers!)
  • SB23-198 | Clean Energy Plans | Concerning the verification of clean energy plans to ensure that the plans achieve the state’s greenhouse gas emission reduction targets. |
    • Ensures the entire utility sector (not just investor owned utilities) will actually achieve 80% reduction in GHGs by 2030
      • Gives them state assistance if the plans they submit don’t meet the state’s goals
  • SB23-291 | Utility Regulation | Concerning the public utilities commission’s regulation of energy utilities. |
    • Requires that IOUs (Investor owned utilities) share in the cost of commodity purchase of LNG, thus making them feel the pain ratepayers feel in the winter
    • Rejects ratepayers paying for lawyers to advocate to raise rates, and for the marketing costs for a captive customer base
    • Maybe prevents Xcel customers from paying for lawsuits due to Xcel’s negligence?
    • Mostly a ‘We’re watching you!” warning bill.

Pollinators – 2 bills

  • SB23-192 | Sunset Pesticide Applicators’ Act | Concerning implementing recommendations contained in the 2022 sunset report by the department of regulatory agencies regarding the act. |
  • SB23-266 | Neonic Pesticides As Limited-use Pesticides | Concerning a requirement that the commissioner of agriculture designate neonicotinoid pesticides as limited-use pesticides. 

Pollution – 7 bills

  • HB23-1101 | Ozone Season Transit Grant Program Flexibility | Concerning increasing the flexibility of the ozone season transit grant program | Metro transportation districts can choose when they want to offer free fares, and the Denver metro area has chosen July AND August this year!
  • HB23-1285 | Store Use Of Carryout Bags And Sustainable Products | Concerning the requirement that a store use fees collected from single-use bags to purchase certain items for the store. | Stores didn’t figure out how to use the bill we gave them last year, so this bill makes it clear.
  • HB23-1294 | Pollution Prevention Measures | Concerning measures to protect communities (particularly those in the nonattainmemt zone) from pollution. |  Gutted, then amended some more. Critically important provisions remain, which include
    • THE COMMISSION SHALL REVIEW, CONSIDER, AND INCLUDE ADDRESSABLE IMPACTS TO CLIMATE, PUBLIC HEALTH, THE ENVIRONMENT, AIR QUALITY, WATER QUALITY, NOISE, ODOR, WILDLIFE, AND BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES, AND TO DISPROPORTIONATELY IMPACTED COMMUNITIES, AS DEFINED IN SECTION 24-4-109 (2)(b)(II). This may seem trivial, but we’ve been trying to get the ECMC (then the COGCC) to recognize and deal with cumulative impacts since SB181 required it in 2019, and they have steadfastly refused to do so. Now they have no choice.
    • (IV) As USED IN THIS SUBSECTION(11)(d), “IMPACTS TO CLIMATE” MEANS QUANTIFICATION OF EMISSIONS OF GREENHOUSE GASES, AS DEFINED IN SECTION 25-7-140 (6), THAT OCCUR FROM SOURCES THAT ARE CONTROLLED OR OWNED BY THE OPERATOR AND REASONABLY FORESEEABLE TRUCK TRAFFIC AT AN OIL AND GAS LOCATION. Important for including transportation not just pad operations.
  • SB23-143 | Retail Delivery Fees | Concerning the administration of the existing retail delivery fees collected by the department of revenue. |
    • This bill preserves a piece of the giant transportation bill from a previous session (SB21-260)
  • SB23-191 | Colorado Department Of Public Health And Environment Organics Diversion Study | Concerning a study regarding diversion of organic materials from landfills.
    • Because food waste generates so much of the methane emanating from landfills. But food waste makes great fertilizer, so let’s find a way to divert landfill emissions to beneficial use.
  • SB23-253 | Standards For Products Represented As Compostable | Concerning standards for products represented as compostable in the state.
    • Quit misleading the public about whether your packaging is compostable.
  • HB23-1272 | Pays for a lot of this. Puts our money where our mouth is. And also makes the frackers pay for us to stop using their products, which I love. You should love it too.

Climate Disaster – 10 bills

  • HB23-1240 | Sales Use Tax Exemption Wildfire Disaster Construction | Concerning a sales and use tax exemption for construction and building materials used for repairing and rebuilding residential structures damaged or destroyed by a declared wildfire disaster in 2020, 2021, or 2022 |
    • Helps survivors of our wildfires the past three years with rebuilding.  Eliminates sales tax on building materials. 
  • HB23-1273 | Creation Of Wildfire Resilient Homes Grant Program | Provides grants for people trying to make their homes more wildfire resistant.
  • SB23-005 – Forestry And Wildfire Mitigation Workforce |
    • Clean up the wildfire caused deadfall and beetle kill so instead of emitting carbon and methane as it decomposes, it instead makes biochar for well plugging and other beneficial uses
  • SB23-010 – (Permanent) Water Resources And Agriculture Review Committee | Duh?
  • SB23-139 | State Severance Tax Trust Fund Allocation | Concerning the appropriation of money from the severance tax operational fund to the wildfire mitigation capacity development fund, and, in connection therewith, making an appropriation. | Using fracker taxes to help us clean up their own mess, gotta love it.
  • SB23-161 | Financing To Purchase Firefighting Aircraft | Fires these days grow so fast that we need really rapid response to curtail, so our own firefighting equipment—our 2nd Firehawk (A Blackhawk equipped with firefighting capabilities) helicopter purchase.
  • SB23-166 | Establishment Of A Wildfire Resiliency Code Board | Concerning adopting model codes within the wildland-urban interface (WUI). | If you build or own in the WUI, you need to take some responsibility to protect yourself.
  • SB23-177 | CO Water Projects Appropriations | Concerning the funding of Colorado Water Conservation Board Projects, and in connection therewith, making an (enormous) appropriation
  • SB23-178 | Water-wise Landscaping In Homeowners’ Association Communities | Concerning removing barriers to water-wise landscaping and vegetable gardens in common interest communities.
  • SB23-295 | Colorado River Drought Task Force | Concerning the creation of the Colorado river drought task force.

Climate in Agriculture – 3 bills

  • SB23-010 – (Permanent) Water Resources And Agriculture Review Committee | 
  • HB23-1220 | Study Republican River Groundwater Economic Impact | Concerning a study regarding the economic impact of the elimination of large-capacity groundwater withdrawal within the Republican river basin. | Because we’ve drawn so much groundwater we’re tilting the earth’s axis—really!
  • SB23-092 | Agricultural Producers Use Of Agrivoltaics | Concerning opportunities for voluntary emission reductions in agriculture through agri- and aquavoltaics, and begin the to quantify and monetize carbon sequestration in the soil. | Also provides an additional source of income by co-locating solar panels with their crops.

CCUS – 9 bills 

  • HB23-1069 | Study Biochar In Plugging Of Oil And Gas Wells | Concerning the creation of the biochar in oil and gas well plugging working advisory group to make recommendations for the development of a pilot program to study the use of biochar in the plugging of oil and gas wells.
    • The only carbon capture and sequestration bill that actually works, is cost-effective, and has a host of co-benefits, like reducing the toxic leaks in and around well pads, and lessening the volume of cement used in well plugging
  • HB23-1210 | Carbon Management | Concerning carbon management, and, in connection therewith, ensuring that carbon management projects are eligible for grants under the industrial and manufacturing operations clean air grant program and providing for the creation of a carbon management roadmap.
  • HB23-1247 | Assess Advanced Energy Solutions In Rural Colorado | Includes CCS for fracked gas plants.
  • HB23-1252 | Thermal Energy | Concerning the implementation of measures to advance thermal energy service. |  Authorizes the CEO to award grants for … direct air capture technology.
  • HB23-1281 | Advance The Use Of Clean Hydrogen | Concerning measures to advance the use of clean hydrogen in the state. | Beginning in 2028 (perhaps sooner) they can start blending hydrogen with fracked gas. What a deal.
  • SB23-016 – Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Measures | Authorizing state primacy application for Class VI carbon sequestration wells, after determining if the cumulative impacts of one will have positive impacts on a DI community, and if negative must be denied; may not be sited within 2000’ of a DI Community until after 4 years of operations of 4 wells,
    • Sets this definition of Cumulative Impacts: “MEANS THE EFFECT ON PUBLIC HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT, INCLUDING THE EFFECT ON AIR QUALITY, WATER QUALITY, THE CLIMATE, NOISE, ODOR, WILDLIFE, AND BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES, CAUSED BY THE INCREMENTAL IMPACT THAT A PROPOSED NEW OR MODIFIED CLASS VI INJECTION WELL WOULD HAVE WHEN ADDED TO THE IMPACTS FROM OTHER PAST, PRESENT, AND REASONABLY FORESEEABLE FUTURE DEVELOPMENT OF ANY TYPE ON THE AFFECTED AREA, INCLUDING AN AIRSHED OR WATERSHED, OR ON A DISPROPORTIONATELY IMPACTED COMMUNITY. But this is belied by this: “PERMIT ISSUED UNDER THIS SECTION ARE SUFFICIENT TO ENSURE THAT ANY CLASS VI INJECTION WELL IMPACTS ARE AVOIDED, MINIMIZED TO THE EXTENT PRACTICABLE,AND,TO THE EXTENT THAT ANY CLASS VI INJECTION WELL IMPACTS REMAIN, THAT THE IMPACTS ARE MITIGATED. THE COMMISSION SHALL PROVIDE A PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY OF HOW THE NEGATIVE IMPACTS ARE AVOIDED OR, IF NOT AVOIDED, MINIMIZED AND MITIGATED AND, IF ANY, THE NEGATIVE IMPACTS THAT CANNOT BE MITIGATED.
    • This clause was also added “THE COMMISSION, IN CONSULTATION WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT, SHALL EVALUATE THE RISK OF CLASS VI INJECTION WELLS BY DETERMINING THE LIKELIHOOD AND SEVERITY OF AN INCIDENT INVOLVING A CLASS VI INJECTION WELL, THE POTENTIAL FOR EXPOSURE FROM SUCH INCIDENT, AND THE OVERALL EFFECT THAT SUCH INCIDENT COULD HAVE ON THE PUBLIC HEALTH, SAFETY, AND WELFARE AND ON THE ENVIRONMENT. Also includes a 2000’ setback from a school, residence or commercial building but gives an out after 4 years and 4 or more wells.
    • Gives Local Governments control over siting and allows them to set fees for EMS response, equipment, and training. This will be key in ensuring dispersion modeling is a matter of public record.
  • SB23-092 | Agricultural Producers Use Of Agrivoltaics | Concerning opportunities in agriculture through agri- and aquavoltaics, and begin the to quantify and monetize carbon sequestration in the soil.
    • Examine greenhouse gas reduction and carbon sequestration opportunities in the agricultural sector, including soil health management practices, the use of dry digesters, and the potential for creating and offering a certified greenhouse gas offset program and credit instruments in the agricultural sector, with a a progress report by October 1, 2024, and a final report, including any recommendations, on or before October 1, 2025.
  • SB23-285 | Energy And Carbon Management Regulation In Colorado | Concerning energy and carbon management regulation in Colorado, and, in connection therewith, changing the name of the oil and gas conservation commission (COGCC) to the energy and carbon management commission (ECMC) and broadening the commission’s regulatory authority to include the regulation of certain geothermal resource operations and intrastate underground natural gas storage facilities.
  • HB23-1272 | Tax Policy That Advances Decarbonization | Tax credits for … for industrial facilities to reduce GHGs via CCS projects.
    • While 1281 (Hydrogen bill) is currently focused on the utility sector’s use of green hydrogen, the tax incentives here may nudge industrial processes like cement and fertilizer toward blue hydrogen (SMR – Steam Methane Reforming) so we’ll have to keep a close eye on this one.

Oil & Gas – 7 bills

  • HB23-1069 | Study Biochar In Plugging Of Oil And Gas Wells
  • HB23-1074 | Study Workforce Transitions To Other Industries | Concerning a study regarding (O&G) workforce transitions to other industries.| Amended to include skills transfer to CCUS/hydrogen tech.
  • HB23-1216 | Natural Gas Pipeline Safety | Concerning measures to promote safety in the distribution of natural gas.
  • HB23-1242 | Water Conservation In Oil And Gas Operations | Concerning water used in oil and gas operations. Good reporting on the use of fresh and toxic produced water, but no definite commitment to reduce freshwater use. Also creates a new department to pursue what can be done with billions of gallons of produced water created annually by frackers.
  • HB23-1294 | Pollution Prevention Measures | Concerning measures to protect communities (particularly those in the nonattainment zone) from pollution. |
    • Allows 3rd party evidence and provides for a new complaint standard. 
    • The Interim Committee this bill establishes should give the state more tools to address air quality problems inherent in fracking.
  • SB23-186 | Oil And Gas Commission Study Methane Seepage Raton Basin | Requires the ECMC to complete a study and establish a new regulatory category. 
  • HB23-1272 | But I can’t think of anything better than making frackers pay to help us stop using their planet-killing products. So I’ll end this summary of 2023 legislation on that very fine note! 

For the final “weekly” legislative update with with more thorough bill language and the positions taken by the CCLC, see this post.

Statement Regarding Concerns About Certain Emerging Technologies

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On May 5, 2023

In Uncategorized

Posted on May 5th, 2023

Summary

As Colorado seeks to address the climate challenges of our time, we appreciate efforts to adopt solutions that positively impact our state. However, we have serious concerns surrounding several of the “emerging” technologies being promoted; in particular, carbon capture and sequestration, direct air capture, hydrogen, and nuclear. We are troubled by the lack of risk-analysis, cost-analysis, and impact-analysis being done in these sectors. We are also concerned that the pursuit and/or adoption of these technologies may further delay action to reduce emissions by redirecting resources and investment away from viable solutions that already exist, such as wind, solar, conservation, and stable energy-storage. We ask for a more rigorous evaluation of emerging technologies than has been presented so far, and for careful re-consideration before pursuing them further.

Carbon Management 

We are concerned that “novel” carbon management methods such as Direct Air Capture and Carbon Capture are unlikely to achieve meaningful CO2 reduction at the levels needed to meet our future climate goals. Currently these strategies are prohibitively expensive and unproven on a widely deployed scale. Even if backed by substantial funding, effective implementation would require decades of research and development – a luxury we do not have. Furthermore, we are concerned that novel carbon management strategies could extend the life cycle of the fossil fuel industry by continuing dependence on oil and gas rather than phasing them out. We ask for climate mitigation efforts focused on stopping the production and consumption of fossil fuels, while also promoting growth in “conventional” carbon dioxide removal methods such as reforestation, ecosystem restoration and agroforestry.

Hydrogen 

Our findings indicate Colorado should only put resources toward green hydrogen, which is produced by splitting the water molecule and uses 100% renewable energy. Blue hydrogen is produced from methane and creates more GHG emissions per unit of energy than burning coal, diesel, or fossil gas. The federal definition of “clean” hydrogen includes blue hydrogen, as does Colorado’s hydrogen roadmap, hydrogen hub and HB23-1281. Hydrogen produced from methane pollutes communities, perpetuates fossil fuel extraction, and increases GHG emissions. Even green hydrogen should be used sparingly. It is inefficient, costly and unsafe in sectors such as vehicles, building heating, and power generation. Hydrogen is only economical in difficult to decarbonize sectors such as maritime shipping, aviation and industrial processes. In developing technological solutions, Colorado should pursue green hydrogen as defined by the International Energy Agency, and should not continue to include blue hydrogen in its energy roadmap or future legislation.

Nuclear

While proponents of nuclear energy claim that it is a clean and carbon-free energy source, research indicates otherwise. The development of nuclear reactors and the mining of raw materials like uranium are highly carbon intensive. The generation of nuclear power creates dangerous waste that remains radioactive for thousands of years, and no sustainable solutions exist for long term storage. Nuclear power plants also pose grave risks to surrounding communities because damage from natural or human related accidents would be catastrophic. Nuclear power is the most water-intensive form of power generation. A single 300 megawatt plant requires hundreds of millions of gallons of water per day. Nuclear power is not competitive in cost or time of deployment, and “advanced nuclear plants,” including Small Modular Reactors, are so far an unproven technology. Marginalized communities surrounding nuclear power plants have been linked to higher rates of cancer, and historically bear a disproportionate burden of the environmental and health impacts of uranium mining.  

Carbon Management

Overview: Carbon Management refers to a suite of emerging technologies that aim to reduce carbon emissions by developing financially and environmentally sustainable mitigation strategies. While there is a place for carbon management in the IPCC Assessment’s plan for addressing climate change, it is important to highlight that these technologies provide widely variable advantages and disadvantages. We give an overview of some of the most frequently discussed carbon management technologies here, while also highlighting some of our concerns.

Carbon Dioxide Removal

The 2023 IPCC AR6 Synthesis Report states that negative emissions will be necessary in order to keep warming under 1.5°C. Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR), both in its “conventional” and “novel” forms, will be required to meet this goal, especially to counterbalance hard to abate emissions in aviation, shipping and industry. Even so, it must be stressed that no form of CDR, even at scale, will allow us to meet our climate goals without timely and aggressive cuts to GHG emissions. CDR should not be viewed as a “free pass” to continue burning fossil fuels at current (or increasing) levels.

Novel CDR includes means such as Direct Air Capture (DAC), biochar, and enhanced rock weathering. DAC has received much of the focus in this sector, although it still lacks sufficient attention in scientific literature. DAC involves pulling CO2 directly from the air and then sequestering it in geological formations or reusing it. Currently, novel CDR provides less than .002 GT/CO2e per year reduction.

  • DAC is extremely expensive. Cost estimates vary widely – between $250-600 per ton of CO2 captured. Even after extensive research and development, research indicates the cost is unlikely to fall below ~ $100 per ton of CO2 captured. To reach the IPCC’s minimum recommendation of removing 2 Gigatons/CO2e per year, at the current minimum cost of $250 per ton, a 500 billion dollar annual investment would be required. 
  • Even with significant support, DAC will take several decades to be environmentally viable at the scale needed. DAC would need to increase efficiency and scale up in size at a rate of 10,000 times current levels by 2030 to fit into GHG reduction goals. 
  • Separating CO2 from the air is an energy intensive process, requiring 1200 kilowatt hours per ton of CO2. If DAC activities are powered by fossil fuels, the process holds little value due to the reintroduction of GHGs. 

Although some novel CDR technologies are promising, we do not agree with the current push for increased implementation of DAC. DAC lacks effectiveness and the long term viability needed to be a significant part of our GHG reduction goals. Investing large amounts of energy and financial capital into DAC is likely to prove unwise given the landscape of more accessible solutions and the dwindling window of opportunity for decreasing emissions.

Conventional CDR includes removing carbon through “natural” methods such as coastal ecosystem restoration, reforestation, agroforestry and soil carbon sequestration, all of which also enhance biodiversity and ecosystem functions. We advocate for additional research and legislation focussed on conventional methods of CDR. 

  • “There is substantial mitigation and adaptation potential from options in agriculture, forestry and other land use… that could be upscaled in the near term across most regions (high confidence). Conservation, improved management, and restoration of forests and other ecosystems offer the largest share of economic mitigation potential…”(2023 IPCC report). 
  • Conventional CDR methods also increase and enhance ecosystem services like local air quality improvements, opportunities for recreation, and health of the local ecosystems. It is estimated that additions to ecosystem services could add over $30 trillion dollars per year to the global economy.
  • Ecosystem services also correlate with social benefits like therapeutic services, spiritual connections, and social satisfaction. 
  • Conventional CDR currently provides the removal of 2 Gigatons/CO2e per year.

Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS)

CCS aims to reduce carbon emissions by capturing them, mainly from industrial facilities and power plants, while redirecting them from entering the atmosphere. CCS has become a frequent topic of discussion as a possible tool for meeting greenhouse gas reduction targets and mitigating the effects of climate change. In 2022, the federal Inflation Reduction Act earmarked billions of dollars of funding for CCS by incentivizing these technologies through the introduction of sizable tax credits.

Before moving forward with CCS, we believe the following factors should be considered:

Summary:
Although carbon management technologies appear to align with the wider goal of addressing climate change, this growing field is rife with unknowns. DAC and CCS are decades away from wide scale implementation, and their ability to effectively limit carbon emissions is a point of concern. Moving forward with these strategies would include deferring much needed resources from areas such as solar and wind infrastructure, building out electric power distribution systems, scaling up transportation charging networks, enhancing innovations in rechargeable battery technologies, and increasing energy efficient housing. Moving forward with the implementation of DAC and CCS risks extending the lifespan of the fossil fuel industry – a move that puts us in grave risk of not meeting our climate targets.

Further recommended reading on carbon management

Hydrogen

Background

Oil and gas companies, along with utilities that are fossil fuel intensive, created the “Clean Hydrogen Future Coalition” in 2021, urging the Biden administration to increase policy support for a wide range of hydrogen uses. Gas companies are testing the use of hydrogen blended with natural gas. Colorado has a Hydrogen Roadmap for development of hydrogen in Colorado and is involved in planning for a regional hydrogen hub. It is time to take a closer look at the long term implications of hydrogen.

Summary

Depending on how it is produced, hydrogen may have some promise in the future in reducing emissions from hard to decarbonize sectors. However, currently at least 99% of the hydrogen being produced actually increases greenhouse gas emissions. The development of “green” hydrogen is in its early stages and still extremely expensive. For all but the most difficult to decarbonize sectors, solar and wind power are more fitting energy sources. Hydrogen is not a good replacement for fossil gas in home use or in generating electricity; it would increase cost and safety concerns while decreasing efficiency.

The facts about hydrogen:

Colorado’s “Low-Carbon Hydrogen Roadmap” recommends pilot projects to blend hydrogen in existing infrastructure to streamline the permitting processes. Developing pilot projects that burn hydrogen for power generation in existing gas turbines and use Colorado’s existing gas storage facilities creates serious public health and safety concerns due to Hydrogen’s chemical composition. This Roadmap is largely for the development and use of “blue” hydrogen, since “green” hydrogen is still too expensive. We believe these factors warrant further consideration before Colorado continues to expand hydrogen production and infrastructure.

 —

With thanks to Susan Saadat and Sara Gerson, the authors of the report Reclaiming Hydrogen for a Renewable Future, from Earthjustice’s Right to Zero campaign. Many of the facts and studies cited above come from this report. 

Nuclear Power and Small Modular Reactors

Background: 

Nuclear energy is frequently touted by industry advocates as a low-carbon energy source to transition away from fossil fuels. While nuclear proponents have claimed that nuclear power is an attractive energy alternative for coal-transitioning communities such as Pueblo, Moffatt and Routt counties, nuclear proposals have received a great deal of backlash from frontline communities. In 1979, Colorado experienced its first failed attempt at nuclear, with the Fort St. Vrain power plant. Fort St. Vrain was so fraught with operational problems that it had to be shut down after a decade to cut financial losses. Over 14 tons of toxic waste are still being stored at that plant 33 years later. In Pueblo, there is a strong community-led effort to halt proposals to replace the “Comanche 3” coal plant with twelve NuScale Small Modular Nuclear Reactors (SMRs). In 2011, a similar attempt to bring nuclear power to Pueblo was rejected due to community concerns in wake of the Fukushima-Daiichi disaster. 


We believe Colorado’s troubled history with nuclear power, in addition to the concerns outlined below, should be considered before policymakers pursue experimental nuclear technology for Colorado’s coal-transitioning communities. 

Overview of Our Concerns Regarding Nuclear Power and Small Modular Reactors: 

Colorado Should Honor its Legacy as a Place of Healing

By

On May 3, 2023

In Uncategorized

Published in Colorado Newsline on May 2nd, 2023

Frances Wisebart Jacobs, a late 19th-century civic leader, is the only woman among the 16 Coloradans memorialized in stained glass on the walls of the Colorado State Capitol rotunda.

Jacobs’ legacy includes bringing free kindergarten to Denver and co-founding the organization that would ultimately become the United Way. She was also the driving force behind National Jewish Hospital, a tuberculosis sanatorium that provided free care for desperate consumptives who came to Colorado to enjoy the healing benefits of clean mountain air. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, tuberculosis was a leading killer, particularly among the urban poor. Historian Jeanne Abrams notes that “no single accepted standard for tuberculosis treatment prevailed in the early years, but by 1880 medical opinion emphasized fresh air for respiratory ailments. Colorado, with its dry and sunny climate, drew tuberculosis victims like a magnet.” A 1925 report found that 60% of Colorado’s population had arrived, either directly or indirectly, to receive tuberculosis care. 

In light of the history of people coming to Colorado to heal from its clean air, our current status as one of the worst metro regions in the country when it comes to ozone pollution is shameful. Our ozone problems have been so bad that in April 2022, the EPA downgraded the Front Range from serious to severe non-attainment of federal air quality standards.

Breathing ground-level ozone is known to cause and worsen a variety of respiratory problems including chest pain, coughing, bronchitis, emphysema and asthma. Poor air quality disproportionately impacts low-income communities and communities of color, leading to increased health risks, higher health care costs, and missed school days. It is a sad irony that a state that once attracted people seeking healthful, clean air now suffers from polluted air that is sickening its citizens. 

We know that oil and gas operations are the largest source of emissions of ozone precursors. House Bill 23-1294, called Pollution Protection Measures, will enhance permit enforcement. It also includes a definition of “cumulative impacts,” a critically important step for future reform.

Key legislative allies introduced a significantly stronger bill that would have created a clean air future for Colorado. Strident opposition from the oil and gas industry and a lack of commitment from the administration of Gov. Jared Polis to advance bold measures stripped the bill of most of its key provisions. This means that frontline communities will have to continue waiting for relief. And yet, the provisions that remain are important first steps for addressing our ozone pollution problem. The creation of an interim committee, as the bill would do, is one of those steps.

Until last week, the history lesson I shared above was an abstract reminder that we should honor our history as a destination for healing. For us at Colorado Jewish Climate Action, the memory of increased risk suffered by the working poor in the late 19th and early 20th centuries serves as a reminder of our current responsibility to fight for environmental justice.

And then my child had a severe asthma attack and was briefly admitted to the ICU. My family received a stark reminder that while disproportionately impacted communities are most at risk from ozone pollution, this problem harms us all.

Moving forward, my wife and I need to be on guard during those all too frequent summer days when dangerously high ozone levels are a hazard for sensitive groups, including those with asthma. This health scare redoubled my commitment to solving Colorado’s ozone pollution problem. In that spirit, I urge our state representatives to look up at the figures memorialized in the Capitol rotunda and honor Colorado’s legacy as a refuge of healing by committing themselves to continuing the fight for clean, healthful air.

Moshe Kornfeld is the director of Colorado Jewish Climate Action.

Ensure that PERA Fossil Fuel Sections Remain in Senate Bill 23-016!

By

On February 17, 2023

In Uncategorized

SB23-016, a bill to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Colorado, has two sections regarding PERA’s fossil fuel investments, one of which is in danger of being amended out in a Senate Finance Committee Hearing on Tuesday, 2/21. Section 2 of the bill would require the PERA board to adopt proxy voting procedures to ensure that PERA’s shareholder votes in the companies they invest in align with and support statewide greenhouse gas emission reduction goals. Section 3 requires PERA to publicly report a description of climate-related investment risks, impacts, and strategies.

We have three urgent action alerts to ensure that the PERA fossil fuel sections remain in Senate Bill 23-016! Please take action to help pass legislation that ensures PERA is held accountable for its role in financing the climate crisis! 

If you are a PERA member, your voice is especially powerful on this issue – please make note of your PERA membership when taking any of the following 3 actions:

1) Please take 30 seconds to send a letter to members of the Senate Finance Committee, urging them to keep the PERA fossil fuel sections in SB23-016 during next week’s committee hearing!

Click Here to send your letter!

PERA’s leadership has been actively working to get Section 2 removed, and have recently sent out a form letter to PERA members, telling them to urge the Senate Finance Committee to remove PERA from the bill. In the lead-up to next Tuesday’s Senate Finance hearing, we need committee members to hear from constituents loud and clear: PERA must be held accountable for their role in financing the climate crisis. 

If you are a PERA member, please make note of your PERA membership in your letter.

We encourage you to personalize the letter, but feel free to submit the letter as-is.

2) Please sign up to testify at the Senate Finance Committee Hearing on Tuesday, February 21st, and urge the committee to keep the PERA sections in the bill! 

You can testify remotely via Zoom, in-person at the Denver Capitol, or via written testimony. This Factsheet and Testimony Toolkithas talking points and instructions to register to testify.  Please note that comments to the Senate Finance Committee should focus on the PERA provisions of the bill only.

3) If you are a constituent of Senator Kolker or Senator Mullica, please reach out to them and urge them to keep the PERA sections in SB23-016! 

We need PERA members and constituents to contact two Senators on the Finance Committee: Senator Kyle Mullica and Senator Chris Kolker, and urge them to ensure that Section 2 remains in SB23-016. If you are a PERA member and/ or a constituent of these Senators, your voice will be crucial in ensuring this piece of the bill remains intact. You can use this email/ call script to help with outreach – it should only take 2 minutes. 

Senator Kolker represents Senate District 16 which includes Littleton, Columbine Valley, and Bow Mar and the areas around those towns.

He can be reached at chris.kolker.senate@coleg.gov or 303-866-4883.

Senator Mullica represents Senate District 24, which includes Thornton and Federal Heights. 

He can be reached at kyle.mullica.senate@coleg.gov or 303-866-4451.

If you are unsure whether you are a constituent of these Senators, you can find out here. 

Testify on 3/16 to Keep Colorado Nuclear-Free!

By

On February 14, 2023

In Uncategorized

In our efforts to keep Colorado nuclear-free as our state plans our necessary transition away from fossil fuels, we have an important hearing coming up related to nuclear power, which would benefit tremendously from public testimony to ensure it does not pass:

Thursday, 3/16 at 1:30pm – Urge House Energy & Environment Committee Members to vote NO on HB23-1080 “Reliable Alternative Energy Sources”. This bill would fund a feasibility study for introducing Small Modular Nuclear Reactors (SMRs) to Colorado. For instructions to register to testify, and talking points to help craft your testimony, please see this toolkit: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WTvjnZyjQkZscwmZEn_ZgqZ1EX0w3EeE/view?usp=sharing.

Three questions for the next mayor of Denver

By

On February 12, 2023

In Uncategorized

Published in the Colorado Sun on February 11th, 2023

The next mayor of Denver must have a heart that longs to keep all of Denver safe from the effects of the changed and changing climate. The next mayor of Denver must have the skill to lead the city to make Denver a world leader in dealing with the changed and changing climate.

The next mayor must clearly prioritize the transition away from burning fossil fuels with initiatives — both established and new — that lead the residents of Denver toward cleaner air, safer indoor spaces, and the new sustainable economic future.

Knowing that racial justice and climate justice are tied together, the next mayor must see that the city must aid those who cannot afford the steps that must be taken to stop burning fossil fuels. More difficult, the next mayor must find ways to persuade those who can afford the steps that must be taken, to take them.

Whatever other good priorities the next mayor has, he or she and the city will face the consequences of our burning fossil fuels: smoke, more heat, ozone, drought, dying forests, erratic weather, potential shortages, and climate refugees.

When new housing is built to help solve our housing crisis . . .

When considering how to help cars, bikes, and pedestrians share the roads . . . 

When trash is collected . . .

When the police do their work, and we strive for justice . . .

When the firefighters do their work . . .

When the city purchases equipment, when it buys its vehicles, when it heats and cools its buildings . . .

When the recreation centers open their doors . . .

When the planes take off from DIA . . .

. . . the mayor must direct the city to do these things in ways that protect Denver from the consequences of the changed and changing climate.

Over the course of 12 years, by 2035, the mayor will know if he or she succeeds if Denver as a whole powers itself by 90% renewable energy.

But which of the many candidates for mayor will care for the health of the city the best? Here are some questions to ask at the forums and debates with the candidates.

These questions are listed in degree of difficulty to show knowledge and commitment to addressing the climate crisis in a just way. The first question is the hardest to answer and the most concrete for city-wide action. The last question might be interpreted as a softball. But if you get a chance to ask all three, they do outline the areas where we Denverites must push on a mayor over the next twelve years.

Q: Do you support the recommendations of Denver’s 2020 Climate Action Task Force and how will you fund the hundreds of millions of dollars it calls to raise?

Acceptable answers will range from a basic familiarity with the Climate Action Task Force; to a basic familiarity with the office of Climate Action, Sustainability and Resiliency and a clear prioritization of the climate problem; to a detailed knowledge of both the task force and the climate action office; to a clear prioritization of the climate crisis and a plan for getting Denver to its stated goal of 65% renewable by 2030 (or a similar plan), with paths that raise up those who have suffered environmental injustice.

Where will Denver get the money? What part must come from the city? As for the rest, how would the candidate put together  public-private partnerships? How would he or she obtain state and federal funding? How do we electrify environmental justice homes and businesses, and work with landlords? Has the candidate given this serious consideration?

The candidate should be talking in the range of $160 million to $240 million a year through 2035.

Q: What opportunities present themselves with the renewal of the Xcel Franchise agreement in 2026?

Acceptable answers acknowledge that the renewal does present opportunities to get Xcel to support more rooftop solar with batteries, community solar, and to rapidly move its transition to renewable technologies.

Q: How would you as the mayor help create a city-wide culture that will lead to accomplishing the 100% carbon neutral goal in 2040?

The answer to this question will tell a lot about the style of the candidate. Bringing a whole city along such a transition is the job of a good politician. Being unnecessarily divisive doesn’t help, being skillfully courageous does help.

Potentially, the next mayor of Denver will have 12 years to achieve his or her goals. The Denver mayor has limited but powerful tools at his or her disposal. Some of those tools can indeed effect substantial change; others are tools of persuasion. The next mayor needs to build a city-wide culture that looks forward to the new electrified economy.

To do this, the new mayor must establish world-leading goals and a path to meet those goals. A world-leading goal is necessary because the world needs leadership to achieve its necessary reductions. Simply being average in a world of below-average responses does not solve the climate crisis. The goal of being 90% fossil fuel free by 2035 is adequate.

Denver is ready to lead. Leading the world means that we show how American people can live their lifestyles more justly while not over-heating the planet.

These goals cannot be simply hidden within the city government but must be broadly shared by both businesses and the public. There are many allies within Denver and a wide-spread acceptance among Denverites that the climate crisis deserves to be addressed in substantial ways. Setting a path forward will have its difficulties but is doable. We need a mayor who will lead us in solving the climate crisis.

Jeff Neuman-Lee, of Denver, is Legislative Team co-chair for Together Colorado‘s Climate Justice Committee.

Action Alert: Letters Needed to Legislators Telling Them About a New Report on How Little Oil and Gas Does for Colorado!

By

On January 26, 2023

In Uncategorized

Have you seen the news that oil and gas extraction in our state is only a small fraction of the total economy? That means it is feasible to phase out new permits for wells by 2030. Wouldn’t it be great if the public and our legislators knew this?

***Take 5 minutes now to send this easy one-click letter: https://secure.ngpvan.com/ekjNT0iS3EyA0ASVdSC3Nw2 to your state representative and senator sending them the report that shows oil and gas provides only 0.7% of Colorado jobs, makes up only 3.3% of Colorado GDP, and provides only 1.2% of state and local government revenue. Report here: https://www.coloradofiscal.org/costs-benefits-oil-and-gas-colorado/library/reports/.


***It’s easy and painless – the one-click letter will find your legislators for you and automatically send the letter to them. If you’ve got some extra time, contact your city council member too and let them know about this report, and asking them to sign this letter of support: https://secure.ngpvan.com/ftaIfFXGnESVMdU08tbPAg2 for a phaseout by 2030 of new oil and gas well permits.

2023 State Climate, Energy, and Environmental Legislation

By

On January 17, 2023

In Climate Change

Following is the bill summary for the entire 2023 Legislative Session.

⭐️ = CCLC Legislation Committee Championed
Click on the bill number to access more details

BILL PASSED THIS SESSION

  • HB23-1005 – New Energy Improvement Program Changes | Expands the C-PACE program |  
  • HB23-1039 – Electric Resource Adequacy Reporting | Ensure planning is adequate for 80% GHGs reduction by 2030 | 
  • ⭐️ HB23-1069 | Study Biochar In Plugging Of Oil And Gas Wells | Concerning the creation of the biochar in oil and gas well plugging working advisory group to make recommendations for the development of a pilot program to study the use of biochar in the plugging of oil and gas wells. | SUPPORT Amended  | 
  • ⭐️ HB23-1074 | Study Workforce Transitions To Other Industries | Concerning a study regarding (O&G) workforce transitions to other industries.| SUPPORT | Amended to include skills transfer to CCUS/hydrogen tech; and look at where in the state (coal plants) workers will be displaced. | 
  • HB23-1101 | Ozone Season Transit Grant Program Flexibility | Concerning increasing the flexibility of the ozone season transit grant program | 
  • HB23-1134 | Require Electric Options In Home Warranties | Concerning requiring a home warranty service contract to allow a homeowner to replace any of certain gas-fueled devices with electric or to receive the retail cash value of the gas-fueled device. | 
  • HB23-1137 | Solar Garden Net Metering Credits Stabilization | Concerning measures to stabilize net metering credits calculated for an electric retail utility’s purchase of electric output from a community solar garden. | 
  • ⭐️ HB23-1161 | Environmental Standards For Appliances | Concerning environmental standards for certain products. | SUPPORT | Amended to include limiting pesticide use, gas fireplace inserts, striking general service lamps (but retaining florescent), low efficiency plumbing, and UPS’s. | 
  • HB23-1210 | Carbon Management | Concerning carbon management, and, in connection therewith, ensuring that carbon management projects are eligible for grants under the industrial and manufacturing operations clean air grant program and providing for the creation of a carbon management roadmap. | OPPOSE | 
  • HB23-1216 | Natural Gas Pipeline Safety | Concerning measures to promote safety in the distribution of natural gas. | 
  • HB23-1220 | Study Republican River Groundwater Economic Impact | Concerning a study regarding the economic impact of the elimination of large-capacity groundwater withdrawal within the Republican river basin. |
  • HB23-1233 | Electric Vehicle Charging And Parking Requirements | Concerning energy efficiency, and, in connection therewith, requiring the state electrical board to adopt rules facilitating electric vehicle charging at multifamily buildings. | SUPPORT | 
  • HB23-1234 | Streamlined Solar Permitting And Inspection Grants | Concerning the streamlined solar permitting and inspection grant program. | 
  • ⭐️ HB23-1242 | Water Conservation In Oil And Gas Operations | Concerning water used in oil and gas operations. | SUPPORT | 
  • HB23-1247 | Assess Advanced Energy Solutions In Rural Colorado | Concerning a requirement that the Colorado energy office conduct studies to assess advanced energy solutions in rural Colorado. | 
  • HB23-1252 | Thermal Energy | Concerning the implementation of measures to advance thermal energy service. | SUPPORT |  
  • HB23-1272 | Tax Policy That Advances Decarbonization | Tax credits for EVs & med/heavy duty trucks; for industrial facilities to reduce GHGs, for geothermal energy projects, for heat pumps, for e-bikes, and for sustainable aviation fuel; and decreasing the tax credit for oil and gas production to pay for it all. | SUPPORT | 
  • HB23-1281 | Advance The Use Of Clean Hydrogen | Concerning measures to advance the use of clean hydrogen in the state. | OPPOSE | 
  • HB23-1285 | Store Use Of Carryout Bags And Sustainable Products | Concerning the requirement that a store use fees collected from single-use bags to purchase certain items for the store. | 
  • HB23-1240 | Sales Use Tax Exemption Wildfire Disaster Construction | Concerning a sales and use tax exemption for construction and building materials used for repairing and rebuilding residential structures damaged or destroyed by a declared wildfire disaster in 2020, 2021, or 2022 | 
  • HB23-1273 | Creation Of Wildfire Resilient Homes Grant Program | Concerning the creation of the wildfire resilient homes grant program | 
  • HB23-1294 | Pollution Prevention Measures | Concerning measures to protect communities (particularly those in the nonattainmemt zone) from pollution. |  Though gutted, then amended some more.
  • SB23-005 – Forestry And Wildfire Mitigation Workforce | 
  • SB23-010 – (Permanent) Water Resources And Agriculture Review Committee | 
  • SB23-016 – Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Measures | SUPPORT with amendments |  
  • ⭐️ SB23-092 | Agricultural Producers Use Of Agrivoltaics | Concerning opportunities for voluntary emission reductions in agriculture. | SUPPORT |
  • SB23-139 | State Severance Tax Trust Fund Allocation | Concerning the appropriation of money from the severance tax operational fund to the wildfire mitigation capacity development fund, and, in connection therewith, making an appropriation. | 
  • SB23-143 | Retail Delivery Fees | Concerning the administration of the existing retail delivery fees collected by the department of revenue. | 
  • SB23-161 | Financing To Purchase Firefighting Aircraft | Concerning state funding to finance the purchase of a firefighting aircraft to respond to wildfires. | 
  • SB23-166 | Establishment Of A Wildfire Resiliency Code Board | Concerning the establishment of a wildfire resiliency code board, and adopt model codes and within the wildland-urban interface (WUI). | 
  • SB23-177 | CO Water Projects Appropriations | Concerning the funding of Colorado Water Conservation Board Projects, and in connection therewith, making an (enormous) appropriation | 
  • SB23-178 | Water-wise Landscaping In Homeowners’ Association Communities | Concerning removing barriers to water-wise landscaping in common interest communities. | 
  • SB23-186 | Oil And Gas Commission Study Methane Seepage Raton Basin | Concerning methane seepage in the Raton basin of Colorado, and, in connection therewith, requiring the Colorado oil and gas conservation commission to complete a study and establish a new regulatory category. | SUPPORT |
  • SB23-187 | Public Utilities Commission Administrative Fee Setting Transportation Services | Concerning fees paid to the PUC by operators of transportation services in the state, and, in connection therewith, requiring the public utilities commission to establish fees administratively. | 
  • SB23-191 | Colorado Department Of Public Health And Environment Organics Diversion Study | Concerning a study regarding diversion of organic materials from landfills. | 
  • SB23-192 | Sunset Pesticide Applicators’ Act | Concerning implementing recommendations contained in the 2022 sunset report by the department of regulatory agencies regarding the act. | 
  • SB23-198 | Clean Energy Plans | Concerning the verification of clean energy plans to ensure that the plans achieve the state’s greenhouse gas emission reduction targets. | SUPPORT | 
  • SB23-253 | Standards For Products Represented As Compostable | Concerning standards for products represented as compostable in the state. | 
  • SB23-266 | Neonic Pesticides As Limited-use Pesticides | Concerning a requirement that the commissioner of agriculture designate neonicotinoid pesticides as limited-use pesticides. | SUPPORT | 
  • SB23-285 | Energy And Carbon Management Regulation In Colorado | Concerning energy and carbon management regulation in Colorado, and, in connection therewith, changing the name of the oil and gas conservation commission to the energy and carbon management commission and broadening the commission’s regulatory authority to include the regulation of certain geothermal resource operations and intrastate underground natural gas storage facilities. |  BOO!
  • SB23-291 | Utility Regulation | Concerning the public utilities commission’s regulation of energy utilities. | 
  • SB23-295 | Colorado River Drought Task Force | Concerning the creation of the Colorado river drought task force. | 

(59 bills; 42 passed; 5 championed by the CCLC Leg Comm, all of which passed)

BILLS FAILED THIS SESSION

  • HB23-1010 – Task Force On High-altitude Water Storage |
  • HB23-1018 – Timber Industry Incentives |
  • HB23-1080 | Reliable Alternative Energy Sources | Concerning alternative energy sources, and, in connection therewith, requiring a feasibility study for the use of small modular nuclear reactors as a source of carbon-free energy and increasing capacity of pumped hydro to 400MW | OPPOSE | PI’d by the sponsor so 1247 could move forward
  • HB23-1092 | Limiting Use of State Money | Concerning limitations on the use of state money, and, in connection therewith, requiring the public employees’ retirement association (PERA) to prohibit government contracts with entities that engage in economic boycotts, and invest money eligible for investment solely on financial factors. | OPPOSE |
  • HB23-1127 | Customer’s Right To Use Energy | Concerning a guarantee of a customer’s right to use (fracked gas) energy. | OPPOSE |
  • HB23-1154 | Ballot Issue Greenhouse Gas Emissions Report | Concerning requirements for ballot initiatives to include the projected environmental impact report, requiring the title of the initiative to reflect the findings of the report, and include findings in the ballot information booklet entry for such initiatives. | PI’d by the Sponsor
  • HB23-1163 | Revoke Carbon Dioxide Status As A Pollutant | Concerning a prohibition against classifying carbon dioxide as a pollutant. | OPPOSE |
  • HB23-1166 | Repeal Retail Delivery Fees | Concerning the elimination of retail delivery fees |
  • HB23-1085 | Rural County and Municipality Energy Efficient Building Codes | Concerning the requirements for rural areas to adopt energy efficient building codes, by extending the compliance periods. | Hearing House E&E 2/23 | PI’d at the sponsor’s request
  • HB23-1221 | Water Quality Data Standards | Concerning data standards for the determination of a total maximum daily load for state waters. |
  • HB23-1289 | Sustainable Advancements In Aviation Tax Credits | Concerning income tax credits for sustainability advancements in the aviation industry, and, in connection therewith, allowing an income tax credit for the purchase of electric-powered aviation ground support equipment and allowing an income tax credit for investments made in a business in the state that researches, develops, or produces alternative aviation fuels or alternative aircraft power plants. Replaced more or less by the credits in HB23-1272.
  • SB23-026 | Financial Institution Discrimination Environmental Criteria |
  • SB23-079 | Nuclear Energy As A Clean Energy Resource | Concerning the inclusion of nuclear energy as a source of clean energy.| OPPOSE |
  • SB23-201 | Mineral Resources Property Owners’ Rights | Concerning protections for property owners in the pooling of oil and gas minerals on multiple separately owned tracts. | SUPPORT |
  • HB23-1282 | Protect Consumers From Additional Entities | Concerning persons subject to the “Colorado Consumer Protection Act”, and, in connection therewith, expanding the definition of “person” used for purposes of the act to include a public utility. |
  • SB23-032 – Wildfire Detection Technology Pilot Program |
  • SB23-262 | Water Desalination Study And Report | Concerning requiring the Colorado water conservation board to study the feasibility of water desalination as a potential contributing solution to the crisis of water scarcity in the Colorado river basin. |

(17 fails)

BILL DETAILS

WEEK 15

SB23-285 | Energy And Carbon Management Regulation In Colorado | Concerning energy and carbon management regulation in Colorado, and, in connection therewith, changing the name of the oil and gas conservation commission to the energy and carbon management commission and broadening the commission’s regulatory authority to include the regulation of certain geothermal resource operations and intrastate underground natural gas storage facilities. | SPONSORS: Sens Priola/Hansen, Rep McCormick | SUMMARY: 

Effective July 1, 2023, the bill changes the name of the oil and gas conservation commission to the energy and carbon management commission (commission) and expands the commission’s regulatory authority to include the authority to regulate a broader scope of energy and carbon management areas beyond oil and gas ( section 1 of the bill). The bill also changes the name of the oil and gas conservation and environmental response fund to the energy and carbon management cash fund (fund) and allows the fund to also be used by the commission for the purposes of administering the expanded regulatory areas (section 2).

Current law states that the property right to the natural heat of the earth (geothermal resource) that lacks sufficient fluid associated with the geothermal resource (geothermal fluid) to transport commercial amounts of energy to the surface is an incident of ownership of the overlying surface unless expressly severed. Section 6 states that, as to property rights acquired on or after July 1, 2023, the property right to a geothermal resource associated with nontributary groundwater (allocated geothermal resource) is also an incident of ownership of the overlying surface unless expressly severed.

Current law requires, prior to constructing a well to explore for or produce geothermal resources, the operator of the well to obtain a permit from the state engineer. Section 7 defines different types of geothermal operations and bifurcates regulation of the different operations between the commission and the state engineer. Specifically, the commission is granted the exclusive authority to regulate operations (deep geothermal operations) for the exploration for or production of:

  • An allocated geothermal resource; or
  • A geothermal resource that is deeper than 2,500 feet below the surface.

The state engineer retains the exclusive authority to regulate operations that are not deep geothermal operations (shallow geothermal operations).

Prior to obtaining a permit from the commission to construct a well for deep geothermal operations, the applicant must provide evidence of any applicable siting application to the local government with jurisdiction over the deep geothermal operations, unless the local government does not regulate the siting of such operations. The commission and the state engineer may adopt rules for the assessment of fees for the processing and granting of a permit to construct a well for deep geothermal operations or shallow geothermal operations, as applicable. Any fees collected by the commission will be deposited by the state treasurer into the fund.

Current law requires, prior to the production of geothermal fluid from a well, the operator of the well to obtain a permit from the state engineer. Section 8 instead requires:

  • A permit from the state engineer prior to the use of a geothermal resource that is not an allocated geothermal resource (distributed geothermal resource);
  • The state engineer to issue the permit for the use of a distributed geothermal resource after a determination that the proposed use is in accordance with applicable requirements for groundwater wells;
  • A permit from the state engineer prior to the use of an allocated geothermal resource; and
  • The state engineer to issue a permit for the use of an allocated geothermal resource after a finding that any associated geothermal fluid is nontributary.

Current law allows the state engineer to adopt procedures that establish geothermal management districts for the management of geothermal operations within the district. Section 9 limits the scope of geothermal management districts to distributed geothermal resources. The state engineer is also required to notify the commission of any application for a geothermal management district that is anticipated to affect deep geothermal operations. Section 10 allows the commission to adopt procedures by rule to establish geothermal resource units for allocated geothermal resources. Section 12 grants the commission the exclusive authority to regulate any intrastate facility that stores natural gas in an underground facility that is not a pipeline facility subject to regulation by the public utilities commission (UNGS facility). If the commission submits a certification to, or enters into an agreement with, the federal secretary of transportation pursuant to applicable federal law, any rules regulating UNGS facilities must be at least as stringent as the applicable federal requirements. Before commencing construction of a new UNGS facility, the operator of the facility must provide evidence of any applicable siting application to a local government with jurisdiction over the UNGS facility, if applicable.

The commission may assess and collect fees from operators of UNGS facilities in an amount and frequency determined by the commission by rule. Any fees collected will be deposited into the fund.

The bill directs the commission to conduct the following studies, prepare reports summarizing the findings of the studies, and submit the reports to the general assembly:

  • A technical study of the state’s geothermal resources ( section 10 );
  • A study, in collaboration with the state engineer, that evaluates the state regulatory structure for geothermal resources and whether any changes to law or rules are necessary ( section 10 );
  • A study concerning the regulation and permitting of hydrogen ( section 18 ); and
  • A study, in coordination with the public utilities commission, examining the siting and regulation of interstate pipelines ( section 18 ).

Sections 19 through 42 make conforming amendments.

SB23-291 | Utility Regulation | Concerning the public utilities commission’s regulation of energy utilities. | SPONSORS: Sens Fenberg/Cutter, Reps DeGruy Kennedy/Martinez | SUMMARY:  Section 1 of the bill requires the public utilities commission (commission), if relying on a discount rate when calculating the net present value of future fuel costs as part of a utility’s electric resource plan, to apply a discount rate that does not exceed the long-term rate of inflation. Section 2 requires the commission to establish mechanisms, guidelines, or rules to limit the amount of rate case expenses that an investor-owned electric or gas utility may recover from the utility’s customers. Section 3 prohibits an investor-owned electric or gas utility from recovering various costs from its customers, including:

  • More than 50% of annual total compensation or of expense reimbursement for a utility’s board of directors;
  • Tax penalties or fines issued against the utility;
  • Certain advertising and public relations expenses;
  • Lobbying and other expenses intended to influence the outcome of local, state, or federal legislation or ballot measures;
  • Certain organizational and membership dues;
  • Travel, lodging, food, or beverage expenses for the utility’s board of directors and officers; and
  • Gift or entertainment expenses.

If an investor-owned utility recovers prohibited costs, the commission is required to assess a nonrecoverable penalty against the utility in an amount that is not less than the total amount improperly recovered and order the utility to refund the amount improperly recovered to its customers, plus interest.

Section 4 requires that, on or before November 1, 2023, an investor-owned gas utility file with the commission for the commission’s approval, amendment, or denial a gas price risk management plan that includes proposals for addressing the volatility of fuel costs recovered from the utility’s ratepayers. Section 4 requires the commission to adopt rules, on or before January 1, 2025, to:

  • Help protect investor-owned gas utility customers from the volatility of gas prices by establishing a mechanism that aligns an investor-owned utility’s financial incentives with the financial interests of its customers; and
  • Establish a mechanism to create a financial incentive for an investor-owned utility to improve its electricity production cost efficiency while minimizing its fuel costs.

As part of its rules, the commission may also consider requiring each investor-owned electric utility to bear a percentage of its total fuel costs in order to incentivize the utility to find efficiencies and reduce fuel waste.

Section 4 also requires the commission to open a proceeding to investigate the extent to which residential and other development in certain geographic areas drive natural gas infrastructure costs for any natural gas utility that serves more than 500,000 customers in the state.Section 5 requires:

  • On or before December 31, 2023, each regulated gas utility to remove from the utility’s rate tariffs any incentives offered to an applicant applying for natural gas service to establish gas service to a property;
  • The Colorado energy office to contract with an independent third party, on or before July 1, 2024, to evaluate the risk that stranded or underutilized natural gas infrastructure investments pose and the annual projected rate impact that such stranded assets have on ratepayers;
  • The commission to determine whether any changes to rules or depreciation schedules are warranted based on its review of the evaluation contracted by the Colorado energy office;
  • An investor-owned gas utility to provide the commission information, including a map, about the utility’s gas distribution system pipes;
  • An investor-owned gas utility to refrain from penalizing or charging a fee to a customer that voluntarily terminates gas service. The commission may adopt rules to establish standards for a customer’s voluntary disconnection from an investor-owned gas utility’s gas distribution system.
  • On or before July 1, 2024, the commission to examine existing investor-owned electric utility tariffs, policies, and practices to determine if the tariffs, policies, and practices pose a barrier to the beneficial electrification of buildings with respect to charges imposed for the cost of transformer or service upgrades.

Section 6 authorizes the commission to allow a wholesale customer of an investor-owned utility to intervene in a proceeding regarding the commission’s consideration of the investor-owned utility’s application for cost recovery from customers.

SB23-295 | Colorado River Drought Task Force | Concerning the creation of the Colorado river drought task force. | SPONSORS: Sens Roberts/Will, Reps McCluksie/Catlin (Bi-partisan) | SUMMARY:  The purpose of the task force is to develop recommendations for state legislation that provides additional tools for the Colorado water conservation board to collaborate with the Colorado river water conservation district, the southwestern water conservation district, and other relevant stakeholders in the development of programs that address drought in the Colorado river basin and interstate commitments related to the Colorado river and its tributaries through conservation of the waters of the Colorado river and its tributaries (recommendations). No later than December 15, 2023, the task force must submit a written report that includes the recommendations and a summary of the task force’s work to the water resources and agriculture review committee.

WEEK 14

HB23-1289 | Sustainable Advancements In Aviation Tax Credits | Concerning income tax credits for sustainability advancements in the aviation industry, and, in connection therewith, allowing an income tax credit for the purchase of electric-powered aviation ground support equipment and allowing an income tax credit for investments made in a business in the state that researches, develops, or produces alternative aviation fuels or alternative aircraft power plants. | SPONSORS: Reps Pugliese/Bird, Sens Liston/Bridges (bi-partisan) | SUMMARY:   Section 1 of the bill creates a new refundable income tax credit for income tax years commencing on and after January 1, 2024, but before January 1, 2033, for the purchase or lease of electric-powered aviation ground support equipment that is purchased or leased to replace similar models of gas-powered or diesel-powered aviation ground support equipment in the amount of 18% of the actual cost to purchase the equipment that may be claimed by a qualifying taxpayer; except that the total amount of credits available to be claimed is $250,000 in each tax year and is available on a first come, first served basis. A qualifying taxpayer is an aviation business, an airport, or a fixed base operator. Only one tax credit may be claimed per individual piece of equipment.Section 2 creates a new refundable income tax credit for income tax years commencing on and after January 1, 2024, but before January 1, 2033, for an investment made by a qualified investor in a qualified business that researches, develops, or produces alternative aviation fuels or alternative aircraft powerplants in the amount of 30% of the investment; except that the total amount of credits available to be claimed is capped for each tax year for which the credit is allowed and is available on a first come, first served basis. The investment must be used by the qualified business in furtherance of research, development, or production of alternative aviation fuels or alternative aircraft powerplants. The executive director of the department of revenue is authorized to promulgate rules to implement the tax credit, including precertification of a business as a qualified business eligible to receive a qualified investment. | House Finance 04/17

🚨HB23-1294| Pollution Prevention Measures | Concerning measures to protect communities (particularly those in the nonattainmemt zone) from pollution. | SPONSORS: Reps Bacon/Wilford, Sens Winter/Gonzales | SUMMARY: Section 2 of the bill removes the requirement that the air quality control commission (AQCC) promulgate rules setting the conditions and limitations for periods of start-up, shutdown, or malfunction of a source of air pollution (source) that justify temporary relief from an emission control regulation. Current law provides that a person shall not permit the emission of air pollutants at a nonresidential structure unless an air pollution emission notice has been filed with the division of administration in the department of public health and environment (division). Section 5 adds the requirements that any: Relevant permits have been approved by the division; and Applicable period of review by the federal environmental protection agency has been completed. Section 6 removes the prohibition against the AQCC adopting rules covering indirect sources that are more stringent than applicable federal law.Section 6 also requires the division, in evaluating a construction permit application for a source that includes new oil and gas operations, to: Aggregate emissions from a proposed or modified oil and gas system; and Consider emissions from exploration and preproduction activities if a proposed or modified oil and gas system is in an ozone nonattainment area and if the activities will be conducted beginning May 1 and ending August 31 of any year (ozone season). Section 8 clarifies that only the filing of a renewable operating permit application can operate as a defense to an enforcement action for operating without a permit during the time period that the division or the AQCC is reviewing the permit application. Current law requires the division or the AQCC to give public notice of certain construction permit applications or renewable operating permit applications and of certain public hearings through a newspaper publication or another method that ensures effective public notice. Current law also requires the division to maintain a copy of a construction permit application and applicable preliminary analysis or a notice of public hearing with the county clerk and recorder of the county where the applicable project is located. Section 8 also removes the newspaper publication option and the county clerk and recorder filing requirements and provides for alternative methods of giving public notice, including posting information about the application or any public hearings on the division’s or the AQCC’s website. Current law requires the division or AQCC to make a finding that a source or activity will meet all applicable emission control regulations, including ambient air quality standards (AAQS), before granting a permit for the source or activity. Section 8 also requires that, beginning January 1, 2024, for at least any source or activity that has the potential to emit levels of air contaminants above certain modeling thresholds, the division or AQCC must base any finding that the source or activity will not cause or contribute to an exceedance of applicable AAQS on air quality modeling.Section 8 also allows the division, after an investigation into whether an activity meets the requirements of a construction permit, to propose additional terms and conditions of the construction permit.

With respect to a complaint alleging or the division’s own belief regarding a violation or noncompliance (violation), section 9 requires the division to: Cause a diligent investigation into the violation to be made unless the complaint clearly appears to be frivolous or trivial or the complainant withdraws the complaint; Notify the owner or operator of the applicable air pollution source of the complaint or the division’s belief of an alleged violation within 30 days after the complaint was filed or the division discovered the alleged violation; Consider all relevant evidence that it acquires when investigating the alleged violation; and Determine whether a violation occurred within 90 days after the division gives notice that it has commenced an investigation on the matter. If the division determines that a violation has occurred, current law requires the division to issue a compliance order unless the responsible party gives timely notice that the violation occurred during a period of start-up, shutdown, or malfunction. Section 9 removes the exception for periods of start-up, shutdown, or malfunction. Section 9 also requires, if a hearing is requested after the receipt of a compliance order, the commission to provide at least 45 days’ notice to any complainant that submitted a complaint alleging the applicable violation.Section 9 also allows a complainant to submit a request for a hearing within 20 calendar days after receipt of a determination by the division that no violation occurred.

Current law provides that any noncompliance that occurs during a period of start-up, shutdown, or malfunction exempts the owner or operator of a source from the duty to pay penalties related to that noncompliance. Section 9 removes this provision. Section 9 also allows a person, with respect to certain clean air regulations, to commence a civil action (action) against an alleged violator for a current or past violation of the regulation. A person shall not commence an action until at least 60 days after a notice has been provided to the executive director of the department, the director of the division, and the alleged violator. Except for violations of an ongoing or recurring nature, any action that is not commenced within 5 years after the discovery of the alleged violation is time barred.

Current law requires the division to consider certain factors in determining the amount of a civil penalty to assess for a violation. Section 10 requires the division to also consider the impact of the violation on safety and wildlife and biological resources and the severity of the violation.  Current law provides that any action related to an alleged violation of air quality laws that is not commenced within 5 years after the occurrence of the alleged violation is time barred. Section 11 excludes actions commenced to address a failure to obtain a permit from this statute of limitation. 

Section 12 creates new electrification requirements and emissions standards for stationary engines used in oil and gas operations.Section 13 creates new control measures that must be included in any state implementation plan for ozone adopted by the AQCC until a serious, severe, or extreme ozone nonattainment area in the state is redesignated as a maintenance area by the federal environmental protection agency. 

Section 15 requires the district court, in a suit against a person that has violated a state law, rule, or order related to oil and gas, to award the initial complaining party any costs of litigation incurred by the initial complaining party if the court determines that the award is appropriate. Section 16 allows any person to submit a complaint to the oil and gas conservation commission (COGCC) alleging a violation of a state law, rule, or order related to oil and gas. Upon receipt of the complaint, the COGCC or the director of the COGCC is required to promptly commence and complete an investigation into the violation alleged by the complaint, unless the complaint clearly appears on its face to be trivial or the complainant withdraws the complaint.

Section 17 requires the COGCC to evaluate and address adverse cumulative impacts on the environment and disproportionately impacted communities for each permit application for a new or substantially modified oil and gas location through a cumulative impact analysis. | House E&E 04/20

WEEK 13

HB23-1281 | Advance The Use Of Clean Hydrogen | Concerning measures to advance the use of clean hydrogen in the state. | SPONSORS: Reps Titone/Vigil | SUMARY:  Section 2 of the bill defines clean hydrogen (clean hydrogen) as hydrogen that is: Derived from a clean energy resource that uses water as the source of hydrogen; or Produced through a process that results in lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions rates that are less than 1.5 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent per kilogram of hydrogen, as set forth in applicable federal law. Also directs the PUC to establish a stand-alone application, review, and approval process for investor-owned utility projects that result in the production of clean hydrogen (clean hydrogen project). For a clean hydrogen project to be approved by the commission, an investor-owned utility must submit an application to the commission demonstrating that the clean hydrogen project involves collaboration between the investor-owned utility and a state or federal agency. Any application for a clean hydrogen project must include: Best practices utilized by the investor-owned utility to reduce air emissions and environmental impacts, conduct leak detection monitoring, and increase public safety; If the investor-owned utility’s clean hydrogen production facilities are located in a disproportionately impacted community, a cumulative impact analysis that evaluates past, present, and future impacts; and An assessment of the annual volume of water used in electrolysis of water to produce clean hydrogen for the clean hydrogen project. Also requires the commission to allow an investor-owned utility to sell clean hydrogen to third parties under a clean hydrogen tariff. For income tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2024, but before January 1, 2033, section 3 creates a state income tax credit in specified amounts per kilogram of clean hydrogen used for industrial operations, for operating a heavy-duty vehicle, or for aviation (tax credit). Any taxpayer seeking to claim the tax credit must first apply for and receive a tax credit certificate from the Colorado energy office.

HB23-1282 | Protect Consumers From Additional Entities | Concerning persons subject to the “Colorado Consumer Protection Act”, and, in connection therewith, expanding the definition of “person” used for purposes of the act to include a public utility. | SPONSORS: Rep Kipp, Sen Priola | SUMMARY: The bill adds a public utility to the definition of “person” in the “Colorado Consumer Protection Act” (Act). In doing so, the bill affords consumers protections against any public utility that violates the Act and subjects a public utility to enforcement actions instituted by the attorney general or district attorneys as authorized by the Act.

HB23-1285 | Store Use Of Carryout Bags And Sustainable Products | Concerning the requirement that a store use fees collected from single-use bags to purchase certain items for the store. | SPONSORS: Rep Valdez | SUMMARY: Currently, a store is required to collect a fee for each carryout bag the store provides to a customer. The store must remit a portion of that fee to the municipality or county (local government) in which the store is located. When the local government has not established a process to accept the remitted fees, the bill requires the store to retain and use the portion of the fee that would otherwise be remitted to a local government to purchase recycled paper carryout bags, 100% recycled cups, or compostable food containers.

SB23-262 | Water Desalination Study And Report | Concerning requiring the Colorado water conservation board to study the feasibility of water desalination as a potential contributing solution to the crisis of water scarcity in the Colorado river basin. | SPONSORS: Sen Priola, Reps Ricks/Soper (Bi-partisan) | SUMARY: The bill requires the Colorado water conservation board (CWCB) to perform a comprehensive literature review of existing research on the challenges and opportunities of desalination facilities in California or Mexico. The literature review must include a summary of the current status of research on desalination, including quantification of certain costs of and benefits that could be realized from the construction and perpetual operation of one or more water desalination facilities in California or Mexico, or both. On or before July 1, 2025, the CWCB must complete the study and submit a report of the CWCB’s findings and recommendations to: The Colorado legislative committees of reference that consider water matters; The governor; and The bureau of reclamation in the federal department of the interior.

SB23-266 | Neonic Pesticides As Limited-use Pesticides | Concerning a requirement that the commissioner of agriculture designate neonicotinoid pesticides as limited-use pesticides. | SPONSORS: Sen Priola, Reps Brown/Kipp | SUMMARY: The bill requires that, on or before January 1, 2024, the commissioner of agriculture adopt rules designating neonicotinoid pesticides as limited-use pesticides, limiting their use to licensed pesticide applicators, and authorizing only licensed dealers to sell them. The commissioner’s rules must exempt certain products that contain neonicotinoid pesticides from the limited-use pesticide designation, including products intended for use: As pet care products; By licensed veterinarians; As indoor personal care products related to lice or bedbugs; As agricultural products; For academic research; and As wood coating products.

WEEK 12

HB23-1272 | Tax Policy That Advances Decarbonization | Concerning tax policy that advances decarbonization, and, in connection therewith, extending tax credits for the purchase or lease of electric vehicles; industrial facilities to implement greenhouse gas emissions reduction improvements, for expenditures made in connection with geothermal energy projects, for the sales tax exemption and deployment of heat pump technology, for retail sales of e-bikes, and for construction of sustainable aviation fuel production facilities; creating a temporary specific ownership tax rate reduction and a temporary sales and use tax exemption on a portion of the sale of electric medium- and heavy-duty trucks; and decreasing the tax credit for oil and gas production. | SPONSORS: Reps Weissman/Joseph, Sen Fenberg | SUMMARY:

Section 2 of the bill extends the innovative motor vehicles income tax credit for the purchase or lease of electric motor vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric motor vehicles that weigh 8,500 pounds or less through tax year 2028 and adjusts the amount of the credit that may be claimed, including with certain allowances for additional credit amounts for vehicles purchased or leased at a location that allows the credit to be assigned and is assigned to a motor vehicle dealer or financing entity and for vehicles that have a manufacturer’s suggested retail price below $30,000. However, the credit cannot be claimed for vans, sport utility vehicles, and pickup trucks that have a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $80,000 or more or for any other vehicle that has a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $55,000 or more. Additionally, if for any one of the state fiscal years 2025-26, 2026-27, or 2027-28, the state is not projected to exceed the state fiscal year spending limit imposed by section 20 of article X of the state constitution by 5% then for any income tax year commencing in the calendar year that begins in that fiscal year, the amount of the credit is reduced by 50%, and if the amount of the reduced credit is at or below $500, then no credit is allowed for such a tax year. 

Section 3 extends the income tax credit for the purchase or lease of an innovative truck through tax year 2028 and adjusts the amount of the credit that may be claimed. However, for light-duty trucks, if for any one of the state fiscal years 2025-26, 2026-27, or 2027-28, the state is not projected to exceed the state fiscal year spending limit imposed by section 20 of article X of the state constitution by 5% then for any income tax year commencing in the calendar year that begins in that fiscal year, the amount of the credit is reduced by 50%, and if the amount of the reduced credit is at or below $500, then no credit is allowed for such a tax year. Additionally, under current law, the innovative motor vehicles tax credit and the innovative trucks tax credit may be assigned by a purchaser to the entity that finances the purchase or lease of the vehicle. Sections 1 and 2 expand the purchaser’s ability to assign the credits to a motor vehicle dealer in addition to a financing entity. For income tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2024, sections 1 and 2 also allow a tax exempt person or political subdivision of the state to claim or assign the tax credit.

Section 4 terminates an existing heat pump tax credit so that it is allowed only for income tax years beginning on and after January 1, 2023, but before January 1, 2024. 

Section 5 creates a refundable income tax credit allowable in tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2024, but before January 1, 2033, for the owner of an industrial facility that undertakes a industrial study (study) or puts greenhouse gas emissions reduction improvements (improvements) into service. The credit is administered by the Colorado energy office (office). The amount of credit that can be claimed for an industrial study is 30% of the costs paid for completing the study up to $1 million. The amount of credit that can be claimed for improvements is 30% of the capital costs paid by the owner, not including the cost for design; except that for certain improvements that have the potential to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions but are not yet commercially available, the office may approve a higher percentage to be claimed of up to 50%. Owners must apply semi-annually for the credit to the office and the office reviews applications and awards a reservation of credits based on a merit-based review. Upon completion of a study or upon putting the improvements into service, the office issues the owner a tax credit certificate to claim the credit in the amount reserved to the owner. The availability of the credit is subject to an aggregate cap each application period. If the aggregate maximum amount is not claimed in a tax year, the aggregate maximum amount in the next income tax year is increased by an amount equal to the excess amount. 

Section 6 creates a refundable tax credit for an expenditure an eligible taxpayer makes in connection with a geothermal energy project, which is a project in the state that is intended to evaluate and develop a geothermal resource for the purpose of electricity production. The office is required to approve geothermal energy projects that can receive a qualified expenditure made by an eligible taxpayer. The office sets the amount of credit an eligible taxpayer may receive and reserves the amount of credit for the income tax year in which the eligible taxpayer anticipates making the expenditure. Subject to specified limits on the maximum amount of credits that the office may approve and that an eligible taxpayer may receive, the office issues a tax credit certificate in the reserved amount of tax credit after an eligible taxpayer submits a cost certification of the qualified expenditure.

Section 7 creates a refundable tax credit for income tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2024, but before January 1, 2033, that is administered by the office and is available to a person subject to income tax or a person or political subdivision of the state exempt from income tax that produces geothermal electricity for sale or for the person or political subdivision’s own use. The credit amount is equal to $0.003 per kilowatt hour of geothermal electricity that is produced in the state in the tax year, up to a maximum amount of $1 million.

Section 8 creates a new refundable income tax credit for heat pump technology for income tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2024, but before January 1, 2033. The office is responsible for maintaining a list of eligible taxpayers who meet certain industry criteria and who are allowed the credit for the installation of heat pump technology or a thermal energy network if the eligible taxpayer provides a discount from the amount charged for installation, unless the eligible taxpayer installs their own heat pump technology or thermal energy network. The amount of the tax credit is calculated based on the applicable percentage, set annually by the office, of a flat dollar amount which depends on the type of heat pump technology installed and the year the credit is claimed. The calculation of the amount of allowable credit may be modified depending on whether the heat pump technology is installed at a multifamily property, at a nonresidential building, or for a thermal energy network. However, for heat pump technology that is installed in an existing residential building or nonresidential building, if for any one of the state fiscal years 2025-26 through 2032-33, the state is not projected to exceed the state fiscal year spending limit imposed by section 20 of article X of the state constitution by 5% then for any income tax year commencing in the calendar year that begins in that fiscal year, the amount of the credit is reduced by 50%, and if the amount of the reduced credit is at or below $250, then no credit is allowed for such a tax year.

Section 9 creates a refundable income tax credit for income tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2024, but before January 1, 2033, for the sale of new qualifying electric bicycles in the state. The credit is allowed in the amount of $800 to a qualified retailer who sells a qualifying electric bicycle to a resident of the state and offers a discount equal to the lesser of $700 or the purchase price. However, if for any one of the state fiscal years 2025-26 through 2032-33, the state is not projected to exceed the state fiscal year spending limit imposed by section 20 of article X of the state constitution by 5% then for any income tax year commencing in the calendar year that begins in that fiscal year, the amount of the credit is reduced by 50%. 

Section 10 creates a refundable income tax credit for income tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2024, but before January 1, 2033, for a percentage of the actual costs incurred to construct, reconstruct, or erect a sustainable aviation fuel production facility in the state. The credit can be claimed by an aviation business, a sustainable aviation fuel producer, or an airport for the income tax year in which the production facility is put in service and is subject to aggregate caps for each income tax year for which the credit can be claimed. Additionally, the credit is subject to recapture if the sustainable aviation fuel production of a facility comprises less than 60% of the total fuel production of the facility in any of the 5 taxable years immediately following the taxable year in which the facility was placed in service.

Section 11 creates a mechanism to allow for advance payment of income tax credits to a motor vehicle dealer or financing entity that has been assigned the innovative motor vehicle tax credit or innovative truck tax credit, or to a qualified retailer for the electric bicycle tax credit. 

Section 12 creates a sales and use tax exemption for a fleet vehicle that is a heavy-duty truck or a medium-duty truck. For tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2024, but before January 1, 2028, the exemption amount is equal to 50% of the purchase price of the vehicle, and for tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2028, but before January 1, 2033, the exemption amount is equal to 60% of the purchase price of the vehicle.

Section 13 terminates an existing sales and use tax exemption for heat pump systems and heat pump water heaters used in commercial or residential buildings so that it is allowed only for income tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2023, but before January 1, 2024.

Section 14 creates a sales and use tax exemption for all sales to an eligible taxpayer of heat pump technology and equipment necessary for the proper functioning of a thermal energy network and for the storage and use of the same for income tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2024, but before January 1, 2033.

Section 15 reduces the severance tax credit allowed for oil and gas production. Under current law, the amount of credit allowed is calculated by applying rate of 87.5% of all ad valorem taxes assessed during the taxable year for accrual basis taxpayers or paid during the taxable year by cash basis taxpayers upon oil and gas, oil and gas leaseholds and leasehold interests, and oil and gas royalties and royalty interests. The bill reduces the rate to 75% for 2024 and 2025. For tax years beginning on and after January 1, 2026, the bill modifies the calculation for the oil and gas tax that otherwise would have been implemented in tax year 2025 by making a parallel downward adjustment so that the amount of credit is derived by multiplying 65.625% of the gross income of the well by the mill levy fixed in the prior calendar year.

Section 16 requires that for state fiscal years 2024-25 through 2032-33, the revenue collected that is equal to the amount attributable to the decreased amount of severance tax credit allowed for oil and gas production is credited to the general fund; except that on July 1, 2025, the revenue must first be credited to the cash funds used for state fiscal years 2023-24 and 2024-25 by the office for the administration of the tax credits created by the bill and the remaining money is credited to the state general fund. Additionally, the stakeholder group that was required to convene pursuant to HB22-1391 is required to additionally consider long-term changes for the severance tax credit for oil and gas production. 

Section 17 creates a partial, temporary, and specific ownership tax exemption for new class A or class B personal property that is a fleet vehicle and meets the definition of a category 7 truck for purposes of the innovative truck tax credit.

Section 18 and section 19 allow for cities and counties to opt out of the sales and use tax exemption created for sales of category 7 fleet vehicles that are heavy-duty trucks or medium-duty electric trucks, sales to an eligible taxpayer of heat pump technology and equipment necessary for a proper functioning of a thermal energy network, and for the storage and use of the same for income tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2024, but before January 1, 2033.

Section 20 gives the office the authority to expend money from the industrial and manufacturing operations clean air grant program cash fund for state fiscal years 2023-24 and 2024-25 to administer and implement the industrial clean energy tax credit that is created in section 5. 

Section 21 gives the office the authority to expend money from the geothermal energy grant fund for state fiscal years 2023-24 and 2024-25 to administer and implement the tax credit for expenditure made in connection with a geothermal energy project that is created in section 6 and the geothermal electricity generation production tax credit that is created in section 7.

Section 22 gives the office the authority to expend money from the community access to electric bicycles cash fund for state fiscal years 2023-24 and 2024-25 to administer and implement the electric bicycle tax credit created in section 9 for state fiscal years 2023-24 and 2024-25. 

Section 23 gives the office the authority to expend money from the electrifying school buses grant program cash fund for state fiscal years 2023-24 and 2024-25 to administer and implement the changes made to the innovative motor vehicles and innovative trucks tax credits set forth in sections 2 and 3. 

HB23-1273 | Creation Of Wildfire Resilient Homes Grant Program | Concerning the creation of the wildfire resilient homes grant program. | SPONSORS: Reps Snyder/Joseph | SUMMARY:  The bill creates the wildfire resilient homes grant program (program) within the division of fire prevention and control (division). The program allows homeowners to apply to receive a grant for retrofitting or improving a house or other structure on the homeowner’s property with strategies and technologies for structure hardening in order to make the house or structure more resilient to the risk of wildfire. The bill also creates the wildfire resilient homes grant program cash fund (fund) for use by the division to award grants and to promote best practices for structure hardening, and on August 15, 2023, the state treasurer is required to transfer $2 million from the general fund to the fund. The division is required to annually report to the wildfire matters review committee on expenditures made from the fund and grants that are awarded pursuant to the program.

SB23-253 | Standards For Products Represented As Compostable | Concerning standards for products represented as compostable in the state. | SPONSORS: Sen Cutter, Rep Froelich | SUMMARY: The bill creates standards for products capable of undergoing decomposition in a controlled composting system. A producer is prohibited from representing a product as compostable unless the product has received certification by a recognized, independent, third-party verification body that the product is compostable (certified compostable). The product must also comply with specific labeling standards that ensure that the product is easily and immediately distinguishable as certified compostable at point of sale and point of use and in a public sorting area and processing facility. A producer of a product that is not certified compostable is prohibited from marketing or advertising the product that imply that the plastic product will eventually break down, fragment, biodegrade, or decompose in a landfill or other environment. On or before January 1, 2024, the department is required to establish a forum that allows any person to file a complaint against a producer for violation of the standards. On and after January 1, 2024, a producer that violates the standards engages in an unfair or deceptive trade practice.

WEEK 11

HB23-1252 | Thermal Energy | Concerning the implementation of measures to advance thermal energy service. | SPONSORS: Reps Lieder/Kipp | SUMMARY:  Authorizes the Colorado energy office to award grants for retrofitting existing buildings for installation of a geothermal system for heating and cooling under the single-structure geothermal grant that the office administers and under the geothermal electricity generation grant that the office administers.  Adds thermal energy as an eligible clean heat resource for helping to meet clean heat targets. A gas utility that is regulated by the commission and that serves more than 500,000 customers is required to propose pilot thermal energy network projects for the commission’s review and approval. The commission shall initiate a proceeding on or before January 1, 2025, to determine if rule-making or legislative changes are needed to facilitate the development of thermal energy in the state.

SB23-201 | Mineral Resources Property Owners’ Rights | Concerning protections for property owners in the pooling of oil and gas minerals on multiple separately owned tracts. | SPONSORS: Sen Jaquez Lewis, Reps Boesenecker/Weissman | SUMMARY: The COGCC (commission), under certain circumstances and after notice and a hearing, may enter a pooling order for a drilling unit, which order includes an owner of mineral interests that does not consent to the drilling for oil and gas on the mineral owner’s tract (forced pooling order). The bill changes the commission’s process for entering a forced pooling order by: Requiring an applicant for a forced pooling order to prove that owners of more than 45% of the mineral interests to be pooled consent to pooling by submitting to the commission a third-party expert’s title report or title opinion; Requiring the commission to determine if the minerals in the drilling unit may be extracted without disturbing a nonconsenting mineral interest owner’s mineral rights and, if so, requiring the commission to include in the forced pooling order a condition that the nonconsenting mineral interest owner’s mineral rights not be disturbed. Alternatively, if the commission determines that the minerals cannot be extracted without disturbing the nonconsenting mineral interest owner’s mineral rights, the commission is required to make explicit findings of that determination;  Requiring that a forced pooling order be issued in a manner that protects and minimizes adverse impacts on public health, safety, and welfare; the environment; and wildlife resources and that protects against adverse environmental impacts on any air, water, soil, or biological resources resulting from oil and gas operations; Reducing the amount of production costs that consenting mineral interest owners in a drilling unit may recover from a nonconsenting mineral interest owner in the drilling unit; and Prohibiting the commission from entering a forced pooling order that includes an unleased, nonconsenting mineral owner that is a local government or a school district, including a charter school or an institute charter school. Additionally, the bill requires that the commission issue a pooling order before any minerals that are subject to the pooling order are extracted or any well is drilled to access the minerals. The bill also authorizes a nonconsenting owner to audit or cause to be audited certain records of the oil and gas operator no more frequently than every 3 years but before any costs are recovered from the drilling unit.

WEEK 10

HB23-1247 | Assess Advanced Energy Solutions In Rural Colorado | Concerning a requirement that the Colorado energy office conduct studies to assess advanced energy solutions in rural Colorado. | SPONSORS: Reps Lukens/Winter, Sens Roberts/Pelton | SUMMARY: The bill requires the director of the Colorado energy office to conduct studies to assess the use of advanced energy solutions in rural Colorado. One study must consider ways to assist northwestern and west end of Montrose county Colorado as it transitions to producing advanced firm dispatchable energy resources. The other study must consider the potential for the development of new energy resources(INCLUDING GEOTHERMAL, “CLEAN” HYDROGEN, ADVANCED NUCLEAR, CARBON CAPTURE NATURAL GAS POWER PLANTS, AND LONG DURATION STORAGE.) in southeastern Colorado. Targeted to the San Luis Valley, Nucla, Naturita, Montrose, Craig, and Hayden with focus on transferring coal-worker skills. The bill specifies information that the director is required to consider in both studies by 7/1/25.

SB23-191 | Colorado Department Of Public Health And Environment Organics Diversion Study | Concerning a study regarding diversion of organic materials from landfills. | SPONSORS: Sen Cutter, Reps Joseph/Kipp | SUMMARY: The bill requires the CDPHE to study the impacts, benefits, and feasibility of requiring diversion of organic materials from landfills and report by 8/1/24. The study must: Incorporate and utilize data from existing Colorado studies and other states; Explore how to leverage existing organics diversion pilot projects in Colorado; Evaluate the environmental benefits of diversion of organic materials from landfills; identify the infrastructure needed; Create actionable parameters for local governments to use; Create a timeline to effectively and equitably phase in diversion; Outline and recommend policies and regulations that would enable diversion of organic materials from landfills; and Identify opportunities for end-market development of organic materials diverted from landfills. The bill authorizes the use of money in the front range waste diversion cash fund and the recycling resources economic opportunity fund to pay for costs associated with conducting the study.

SB23-192 | Sunset Pesticide Applicators’ Act | Concerning implementing recommendations contained in the 2022 sunset report by the department of regulatory agencies regarding the act. | SPONSORS: Sens Priola/Roberts, Reps Kipp/McLachlan | SUMMARY: The bill implements some of the recommendations of the department of regulatory agencies: Continue the act for 11 years, until September 1, 2034; updates the statutory definition of “use” to align with the federal definition adopted by the federal environmental protection agency; increases the maximum civil penalty for a violation of the act from $1,000 to $2,500 for the first violation, which results in the possibility of a maximum civil penalty of $5,000 for a second violation; requires the commissioner to establish an online complaint process; limits the number of terms that members of the advisory committee may serve to 2 terms, but allows a member representing the Colorado state university agricultural experiment station or the CDPHE to serve on the advisory committee for unlimited terms during the duration of the member’s employment with CSU or CDPHE; and places language in statutes governing local governments that mirrors the language in the act requiring a local government that adopts an ordinance or resolution about pesticides to submit information to the commissioner about the ordinance or resolution.

SB23-198 | Clean Energy Plans | Concerning the verification of clean energy plans to ensure that the plans achieve the state’s greenhouse gas emission reduction targets. | SPONSORS: Sen Winter, Rep Weissman | SUMMARY:  If an entity’s current clean energy plan does not achieve the 2027 clean energy target, the entity must submit a revised clean energy plan to CDPHE by 12/31/24. The CDPHE shall, in consultation with the PUC, verify that the revised clean energy plan meets the 2027 clean energy target. The bill also requires any entity that submits a clean energy plan to the division on or after July 1, 2023, to base the entity’s 2005 baseline greenhouse gas emissions, estimated 2027 GHG emissions, and estimated 2030 GHG emissions on: The GHG emissions from each resource that is used to supply electricity to the entity’s retail electricity customers; and The GHG emissions from each resource that generates electricity and that is owned by the entity if the applicable GHG emissions are not otherwise required to be included in another entity’s clean energy plan. The bill also requires the CDPHE to independently confirm or calculate the data it uses in verifying a clean energy plan submitted to the division on or after July 1, 2023, and allow the public to access and provide comments about the data prior to the verification of a clean energy plan. No later than June 1, 2028, the division must: Calculate the percentage of reduction in GHG emissions for each entity that is required to submit a clean energy plan and does not have its electric resource planning process regulated by the PUC; and

Determine whether each entity that is required to submit a clean energy plan and does not have its electric resource planning process regulated by the PUC has obtained all of the resources necessary to achieve the 2030 clean energy target.

If the division determines that an entity has not obtained all of the resources necessary to achieve the 2030 clean energy target, no later than December 31, 2028, the entity must submit a report to the division identifying the resources that it has procured to achieve the 2030 clean energy target (report). If the entity does not submit the report on or before December 31, 2028, or if the CDPHE determines from the report that an entity has not obtained all of the resources necessary to achieve the 2030 clean energy target, the air quality control commission (AQCC) shall adopt rules that limit the GHG emissions by the entity to ensure that the entity achieves the 2030 clean energy target and that direct the division to amend any of the entity’s operating permits for sources of GHG emissions to ensure that the entity achieves the 2030 clean energy target.

The bill also requires: If a utility’s Colorado electricity sales between January 1, 2022, and December 31, 2022, are equal to or greater than 300,000 megawatt-hours, the utility to submit a clean energy plan to the division; and The owner of an electric generating unit that has a nameplate capacity equal to or larger than 50 megawatts to submit a clean energy plan to the division that covers all GHG emissions from the unit that are not otherwise required to be included in the clean energy plan of another entity. No later than October 1, 2024, the division shall submit a report to the general assembly that includes certain data regarding which electric utilities have submitted clean energy plans to the division and the electricity generation resources that are responsible for GHG emissions in the state. No later than December 31, 2024, the division shall issue guidance specifying the manner in which the division will track and account for GHG emissions associated with electricity utility transactions in organized markets.

The bill defines “cooperative retail electric utility” as a retail electric utility that has: Indicated an intent to submit or, after January 1, 2021, has submitted a clean energy plan; and Provided a non-conditional notice that it is withdrawing from a wholesale generation and transmission cooperative after January 1, 2021, or enters into a partial requirements contract with a wholesale generation and transmission cooperative to obtain more than 5% of its firm capacity supply from a greenhouse-gas-emitting source other than the wholesale generation and transmission cooperative (cooperative retail electric utility). A cooperative retail electric utility must submit a clean energy plan to the division no later than 18 months after ceasing to be a member of a wholesale generation and transmission cooperative or after the date that a partial requirements contract begins. The division shall verify, in consultation with the PUC, that any cooperative retail electric utility’s clean energy plan achieves the 2027 clean energy target and the 2030 clean energy target. The bill also defines “wholesale power marketer” as an entity operating in the state that supplies wholesale capacity or energy to a retail electric utility located in the state (wholesale power marketer). A wholesale power marketer must submit a clean energy plan with the division if, on or after July 1, 2023: The wholesale power marketer sells, provides, arranges for, or contracts for the delivery of capacity or energy to a retail electric utility in the state; and The GHG emissions associated with the retail electric utility’s operations are not otherwise required to be included in another entity’s clean energy plan. The division must verify, in consultation with the PUC, that any clean energy plan submitted by a wholesale power marketer achieves the 2027 clean energy target and the 2030 clean energy target. The bill also defines “new electric utility” as any new electric utility that is incorporated, created, or otherwise formed on or after July 1, 2023, that: Serves retail customers in the state; and Sells 300,000 megawatt-hours or more of electricity in its first year of operation (new electric utility). A new electric utility must submit a clean energy plan to the division no later than 2 years after being incorporated, created, or otherwise formed. If a new electric utility does not submit a clean energy plan to the division within this time, the AQCC shall adopt rules to reduce the GHG emissions by the new electric utility to ensure that the new electric utility achieves the 2027 clean energy target and the 2030 clean energy target.

WEEK 9

HB23-1233 | Electric Vehicle Charging And Parking Requirements | Concerning energy efficiency, and, in connection therewith, requiring the state electrical board to adopt rules facilitating electric vehicle charging at multifamily buildings, limiting the ability of the state electrical board to prohibit the installation of electric vehicle charging stations, forbidding private prohibitions on electric vehicle charging and parking, requiring local governments to count certain spaces served by an electric vehicle charging station for minimum parking requirements, forbidding local governments from prohibiting the installation of electric vehicle charging stations, exempting electric vehicle chargers from business personal property tax, and authorizing electric vehicle charging systems along highway rights-of-way. | SPONSORS: Reps Mauro/Valdez, Sens Priola/Winter | SUMMARY: Section 2 of the bill requires the state electrical board (board) to adopt rules requiring compliance, starting January 1, 2024, with the provisions of the model electric ready and solar ready code that require multifamily buildings to be electric vehicle (EV) capable and EV ready and to have EV supply equipment installed. The board is precluded from adopting rules that prohibit the installation or use of EV charging stations unless the rules address a bona fide safety concern.

Current law prohibits a landlord from unreasonably prohibiting the installation of EV charging equipment in the leased premises. This prohibition applies only to residential rental property. Section 3 broadens this prohibition to apply to an assigned or a deeded parking space for the leased premises, to parking spaces accessible to both the tenant and other tenants, and to commercial rental property. Section 3 also requires a landlord to allow an EV or a plug-in hybrid vehicle to park on the premises. 

Current law prohibits, when a person owns a unit in a common interest community, such as a condominium, the association that manages the community (association) from unreasonably prohibiting the installation of EV charging equipment in the unit. Section 4 broadens this prohibition to apply to assigned or deeded parking spaces for the unit or parking spaces accessible to both the unit owner and other unit owners. Section 4 also requires a common interest community to allow an EV or a plug-in hybrid vehicle to park at the premises.

Current law grants a local government the ability to regulate parking, and this regulation includes requiring that buildings meet minimum parking standards. Sections 5, 6, and 7 require the local government, when counting minimum parking spaces, to count:

  • Any parking space that is served by an EV charging station as at least one standard automobile parking space; and
  • Any van-accessible parking space that is wheelchair accessible and served by an EV charging station as at least 2 standard automobile parking spaces.

Sections 8 and 9 prohibit local governments from adopting an ordinance or a resolution that prohibits the installation or use of EV charging stations unless the ordinance or resolution addresses a bona fide safety concern.Section 10 exempts, until 2030, EV charging systems from the levy and collection of property tax.

Federal law prohibits the construction of automotive service stations or other commercial establishments for serving motor vehicle users along interstate highway rights-of-way, including rest areas. Due to this prohibition, the state cannot construct EV charging systems along interstate highway rights-of-way, including rest areas, in the state. Section 11 specifies that, when the federal law no longer prohibits the construction of EV charging systems along interstate highway rights-of-way, the department of transportation may collaborate with public or private entities to develop projects for the construction of EV charging systems along interstate highway rights-of-way. 

HB23-1234 | Streamlined Solar Permitting And Inspection Grants | Concerning the streamlined solar permitting and inspection grant program. | SPONSORS: Reps Brown/Soper, Sen Roberts (Bi-Partisan) | SUMMARY: The bill creates the streamlined solar permitting and inspection grant program (program). The program will grant money to local governments to implement free automated permitting and inspection software. To support the implementation of free automated permitting and inspection software by local governments, the state treasurer will transfer one million dollars from the general fund to the program in fiscal year 2022-23. The money is continuously appropriated.

The bill requires the Colorado energy office (office) to administer the program by developing procedures to award money to applicants, establishing a process for applicants to apply for money, requiring applicants to demonstrate expected costs to implement the automated permitting and inspection software, and beginning to approve applicants no later than June 30, 2024. A grantee must implement the free automated permitting software within 180 days of receipt of grant money. Grantees are required to report to the office the implementation status of the free automated permitting software one year after being granted the money and each year thereafter for 4 years. The office is required to report to the house of representatives energy and environment committee, the senate transportation committee, and the joint budget committee the progress of the grant program yearly beginning on January 1, 2025, and continuing until the repeal of the program on July 1, 2034.

HB23-1240 | Sales Use Tax Exemption Wildfire Disaster Construction | Concerning a sales and use tax exemption for construction and building materials used for repairing and rebuilding residential structures damaged or destroyed by a declared wildfire disaster in 2020, 2021, or 2022. | SPONSORS: Reps Brown/Amabile, Sen Fenberg | SUMMARY: Section 1 of the bill creates a state sales and use tax exemption for construction and building materials purchased on or after January 1, 2020, but before July 1, 2025, to be used directly in rebuilding or repairing a residential structure damaged or destroyed by a declared wildfire disaster in calendar year 2020, 2021, or 2022 (wildfire rebuild exemption).

A homeowner, or a contractor employed by a homeowner, may obtain a wildfire rebuild exemption certificate from the local government authorized to issue a building permit in the area in which the residential structure to be repaired or rebuilt is located. To be qualified, a homeowner must certify that:

  • The homeowner was the owner of each residential structure to be repaired or rebuilt at the time the structure was damaged or destroyed by the declared wildfire disaster; and
  • The replacement cost for each residential structure to be repaired or rebuilt exceeds the homeowner’s coverage under any homeowner’s insurance policy associated with the structure.

To claim the exemption, the qualified homeowner, or contractor employed by such homeowner, must provide a copy of the wildfire rebuild exemption certificate to each retailer from which the homeowner or contractor purchases exempt construction or building materials. If a qualified homeowner, or contractor employed by such homeowner, has paid state sales or use tax on the purchase of exempt construction or building materials on or after January 1, 2020, but before July 1, 2025, then the person who made the purchase may apply to the department of revenue for a refund pursuant to existing sales and use tax refund procedures. Alternatively, if the purchaser-contractor has not been granted a refund, the homeowner for whom the exempt materials were purchased may apply for a refund by establishing certain existing statutory requirements are met.

Sections 2 and 3 include the wildfire rebuild exemption among other exemptions available to state-collected and administered local sales and use tax jurisdictions, including statutory cities and counties, for adoption at their discretion.

⭐️HB23-1242 | Water Conservation In Oil And Gas Operations | Concerning water used in oil and gas operations. | SPONSORS: Boesenecker/Joseph, Sen Cutter | SUMMARY: The bill requires an oil and gas operator in the state (operator), on or before January 31, 2024, and at least annually thereafter, to report information to the COGCC regarding the operator’s use of water entering, utilized at, or exiting each of the operator’s oil and gas locations. The bill also requires the commission to adopt rules requiring that: 

  • When issuing an operator a new or renewed oil and gas permit on or after June 1, 2024, the commission include as a condition of the permit a requirement that the operator use a decreasing percentage of fresh water and a corresponding increasing percentage of recycled or reused water in the operator’s oil and gas operations; and
  • Each oil and gas operator, on and after January 1, 2024, report on a monthly basis to the commission about the daily vehicle miles traveled for any trucks hauling water to, within, or from the operator’s oil and gas operations in the state.

From the information reported to the commission under the bill, the commission is required to:

  • Include the information as part of the commission’s annual reporting on cumulative impacts of oil and gas operations;
  • Report to the division of administration (division) in the department of public health and environment, on a per-incident basis, any indication of technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive material or PFAS chemicals present in produced water; and
  • On a quarterly basis, submit a cumulative report to the CDPHE and CDOT on reported vehicle miles traveled and public roads traveled. 

SB23-186 | Oil And Gas Commission Study Methane Seepage Raton Basin | Concerning methane seepage in the Raton basin of Colorado, and, in connection therewith, requiring the Colorado oil and gas conservation commission to complete a study and establish a new regulatory category. | SPONSORS: Sens Pelton/Winter, Reps Winter/Willford (Bi-partisan) | SUMMARY: The bill requires the Colorado oil and gas conservation commission (commission), in consultation with local governments, to perform a study that:

  • Recognizes best management practices for capturing methane seepage in the Raton basin;
  • Confirms the high quality of water resulting from such methane capture operations; and
  • Confirms the high potential to preserve and make beneficial use of such water.

The commission must complete the study and submit it to legislative committees of reference by December 1, 2023.

The bill also requires the commission to implement a regulatory category for methane recovery in the Raton basin, which category includes consideration of enforcement, financial assurance, flow lines, forms, operator guidance, orphan well programs, rules, and policies and allows for beneficial uses deemed prudent by local governments. 

SB23-187 | Public Utilities Commission Administrative Fee Setting Transportation Services | Concerning fees paid to the public utilities commission by operators of transportation services in the state, and, in connection therewith, requiring the public utilities commission to establish fees administratively. | SPONSORS: Sens Winter/Rodriguez | SUMMARY: Current law requires that, if the uncommitted reserves in the motor carrier fund (fund) exceed 10% of the fund’s expenditures, the amount of the uncommitted reserves in the fund that are attributable to the registration fees paid by motor carriers and other transportation providers required to register with the United States department of transportation under the unified carrier registration system must be transferred from the fund to the motor carrier safety fund. Section 1 of the bill adjusts the amount of uncommitted reserves that triggers the transfer from 10% to 16.5%.

Under current law, various fees imposed on motor carriers are either specified in statute or set administratively by the public utilities commission (commission). Sections 2 and 3 remove the statutorily set fees and instead authorize the commission to set the motor carrier fees administratively.Section 4 requires, on and after January 1, 2024, that the commission establish transportation network company permit fees administratively. The commission may adopt rules establishing different tiers of permit fees for distinct types of transportation network companies based on the commission’s consideration of market factors.

Week 8

HB23-1220 | Study Republican River Groundwater Economic Impact | Concerning a study regarding the economic impact of the elimination of large-capacity groundwater withdrawal within the Republican river basin, and, in connection therewith, requiring the Colorado water center to conduct the study and report its findings and conclusions to certain legislative committees. | SPONSORS: Reps Holthorf/McCormick (bi-partisan) | SUMMARY: The bill requires the Colorado water center (center) in the Colorado state university to study the anticipated economic effects of the forced elimination of groundwater withdrawals within and surrounding the Colorado portion of the Republican river basin that could occur if Colorado fails to comply with the resolution. The center is required to prepare a progress report and, on or before January 1, 2026, a final report of the center’s findings and conclusions from the study and to post both reports on the center’s website. The center must present the progress and final reports to certain legislative committees.

HB23-1221 | Water Quality Data Standards | Concerning data standards for the determination of a total maximum daily load for state waters. | SPONSORS: Reps Soper/Mauro, Sen Simpson | SUMMARY: The bill requires the division of administration in the department of public health and environment, on and after January 1, 2024, to use quality-assured data to determine the maximum amount of a pollutant that can be discharged daily into state waters without exceeding applicable water quality standards.

SB23-139 | State Severance Tax Trust Fund Allocation | Concerning the appropriation of money from the severance tax operational fund to the wildfire mitigation capacity development fund, and, in connection therewith, making an appropriation. | SPONSORS: Sens Zenziger/Kirkmeyer, Reps Sirota/Bockenfeld (Bi-partisan) | SUMMARY: Joint Budget Committee. The bill authorizes the general assembly to appropriate up to $10 million from the severance tax operational fund (operational fund) to the wildfire mitigation capacity development fund (wildfire fund) for fiscal year 2022-23 and makes a corresponding appropriation. The bill authorizes the general assembly to appropriate up to $5 million from the operational fund to the wildfire fund beginning in fiscal year 2023-24 and in each fiscal year thereafter. Such appropriations may be made only if less than 100% of the money available in the operational fund is used for current core programs.

SB23-177 | CO Water Projects Appropriations | Concerning the funding of Colorado Water Conservation Board Projects, and in connection therewith, making an (enormous) appropriation | SPONSORS: Sens Roberts/Simpson (Bi-partisan) | SUMMARY: The bill appropriates the following amounts for the 2023-24 state fiscal year from the Colorado water conservation board (CWCB) construction fund to the CWCB or the division of water resources in the department of natural resources for the following projects:

  • Continuation of the satellite monitoring system, $380,000;
  • Continuation of the floodplain map modernization program, $500,000;
  • Continuation of the weather modification permitting program, $500,000;
  • Continuation of the watershed restoration program, $500,000;
  • Continuation of the Colorado Mesonet project, $150,000
  • Continuation of the weather forecasting partnership project, $1,000,000;
  • Support for the division of water resources mobile field data collection application project, $800,000;
  • Continuation of the reservoir enlargement assessment project, $1,000,000;
  • Support for the central Colorado water conservancy district augmentation efficiency project, $3,000,000; and
  • Support for the state water plan action advancement project, $2,000,000.

The bill directs the state treasurer to transfer the following amounts on July 1, 2023, from the severance tax perpetual base fund to the CWCB construction fund, and appropriates those amounts from the CWCB construction fund to the CWCB for the following projects:

  • Continuation of the Platte river recovery implementation program, $19,000,000;
  • Support for the upper Colorado river endangered fish recovery program and the San Juan river basin recovery implementation program, $15,000,000; and
  • Additional and continued support for the Frying Pan – Arkansas project, $20,000,000.

The bill directs the state treasurer to transfer the following amounts from the CWCB construction fund on July 1, 2023:

  • $2,000,000 to restore the fish and wildlife resources fund;
  • Up to $2,000,000 to the CWCB litigation fund; and
  • $2,000,000 to the water plan implementation cash fund for continuation of the water plan implementation grant program.
  • Section 17 appropriates $10,600,000 of sports betting revenues from the water plan implementation cash fund and $2,000,000 from the CWCB construction fund to the CWCB to fund grants that will help implement the state water plan.
  • Section 18 appropriates $8,000,000 from the wildlife cash fund to the division of parks and wildlife to purchase up to 924 acre-feet of orphan shares from the CWCB as part of the Chatfield reservoir reallocation project.

SB23-178 | Water-wise Landscaping In Homeowners’ Association Communities | Concerning removing barriers to water-wise landscaping in common interest communities. | SPONSORS: Sens Jaquez Lewis/Will, Rep McCormick | SUMMARY: The bill states that an association’s guidelines or rules must: Not prohibit the use of nonvegetative turf grass in the backyard of a unit owner’s property; Not unreasonably require the use of hardscape on more than 20% of the landscaping area of a unit owner’s property; Allow a unit owner an option that consists of at least 80% drought-tolerant plantings; and Not prohibit vegetable gardens in the front, back, or side yard of a unit owner’s property. The bill also requires an association to permit the installation of at least 3 garden designs that are preapproved by the association for installation in front yards within the common interest community. To be preapproved, a garden design must adhere to the principles of water-wise landscaping and emphasize drought-tolerant and native plants. The bill allows a unit owner who is affected by an association’s violation of the new requirements to bring a civil action to restrain further violation and to recover damages in an amount equal to actual damages plus $500, plus any other damages, costs, and reasonable attorney fees.

Week 7 Bills

HB23-1216 | Natural Gas Pipeline Safety | Concerning measures to promote safety in the distribution of natural gas. | SPONSOR: Rep Story | SUMMARY: The bill requires the PUC gas pipeline safety rules, on or before March 1, 2024, for: The inspection of gas meters and service regulators no more often than every 36 months; and the re/installation of service regulators so that any vents are at least 12 inches above ground. Also requiring a gas distributor: Provide written notice to the customer, within 90 days after the installation of the customer-owned service line, who’s responsible for the maintenance; and Obtain a signed copy of the written notice from the customer.

Week 6 Bills

⭐️ HB23-1210 | Carbon Management | Concerning carbon management, and, in connection therewith, ensuring that carbon management projects are eligible for grants under the industrial and manufacturing operations clean air grant program and providing for the creation of a carbon management roadmap. | SPONSORS: Rep Dickson, Sen Hansen | SUMMARY: The CCUS train is leaving the station, whether it’s viable, or cost-effective, or not.  This bill prohibits EOR (Enhanced Oil Recovery) from inclusion in any future funding opportunities, but encourages companies to pursue carbon capture—including DAC—and the use of CO2 pipelines, and requires the Energy Office to create a CCUS Roadmap for the legislature in 2025. There’s a lot to like and a lot to dislike about this bill, so here are the gory details:

Specifically, the roadmap will examine: (I) CONSTRUCTION; (II) AGRICULTURE; (III) FOREST MANAGEMENT; (IV) MINE RECLAMATION; (V) INDUSTRIAL MANUFACTURING; (VI) CEMENT AND CONCRETE; (VII) FOOD AND BEVERAGE; AND (VIII) EXISTING OIL AND GAS INFRASTRUCTURE AND WORKFORCE; (b) THE NECESSARY INFRASTRUCTURE TO SUPPORT CARBON MANAGEMENT, SUCH AS: (I) THE BEST RESERVOIRS FOR CARBON DIOXIDE STORAGE; (II) EXISTING CARBON DIOXIDE PIPELINES AND HOW THOSE PIPELINES CAN BEST BE CONNECTED WITH PIPELINES NEEDED FOR INDUSTRIAL CARBON MANAGEMENT TO MINIMIZE RISK, INCLUDING RISK TO DISPROPORTIONATELY IMPACTED COMMUNITIES; AND (III) INFRASTRUCTURE THAT ALLOWS ACCESS TO CLEAN ENERGY RESOURCES FOR CARBON MANAGEMENT PROJECTS THAT WOULD: (A) ATTRACT COMPANIES TO DEVELOP OR DEPLOY CARBON MANAGEMENT IN THE STATE; B) ENCOURAGE THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW CARBON MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGIES; (C) SUPPORT THE EXPANSION OF CARBON MANAGEMENT COMPANIES IN THE STATE; (D) CATALYZE PRIVATE INVESTMENT AND MARKET DEVELOPMENT IN CARBON MANAGEMENT BY APPLYING GAP FUNDING OR OTHER SUPPORT FOR CARBON MANAGEMENT PROJECTS INVOLVING PRIVATE SECTOR PROVIDERS AND BUYERS; AND (E) FOSTER CARBON MANAGEMENT PROJECTS IN THE STATE. Fortunately it has provisions to restrict any efforts that have impacts on public health or DI Communities, or benefit habitual offenders or violators of air permits. Unfortunately, and it bears repeating, this roadmap has no requirement to evaluate cost effectiveness or even viability of the technology. 

SB23-143 | Retail Delivery Fees | Concerning the administration of the existing retail delivery fees collected by the department of revenue. | SPONSORS: Sens Fenberg/Van Winkle | SUMMARY: In short, the bill allows retailers to include the delivery fee in the price rather than add it as a separate line item, lightens the load of delivery fees for small and new businesses, and exempts delivery fees that would be higher than the merchandise itself.

SB23-161 | Financing To Purchase Firefighting Aircraft | Concerning state funding to finance the purchase of a firefighting aircraft to respond to wildfires. | SPONSORS: Sens Fenberg/Will, Reps Lynch/McCluskie (Bi-partisan) SUMMARY: Spending another $80M on another fire hawk helicopter because it’s easier to justify money spent on the symptoms of climate change than the cause.

SB23-166 | Establishment Of A Wildfire Resiliency Code Board | Concerning the establishment of a wildfire resiliency code board, and adopt model codes and within the wildland-urban interface (WUI). | SPONSORS: Sens Cutter/Exum, Reps Froelich/Velasco | SUMMARY: The bill establishes a wildfire resiliency code board in the department of public safety for ensuring community safety from and reducing the risk of wildfires to people and property. The board will adopt codes and standards for the hardening of structures and parcels in the wildland-urban interface in Colorado, including defining the WUI and identify areas of the state that are within it; Adopt minimum codes and standards based on best practices to reduce the risk to life and property from the effects of wildfires; Identify hazards and types of buildings, entities, and defensible space around structures to which the codes apply; and establish a process for a governing body to petition the board for a modification to the codes and establish the criteria and process for the board to grant or deny an appeal from a decision of the board on a petition for modification. The bill also creates a cash fund and continuously appropriates the money in the fund to the department to implement the provisions of the bill.

Week 4 bills (no week 5 bills)

HB23-1127 | Customer’s Right To Use Energy | Concerning a guarantee of a customer’s right to use (fracked gas) energy. | SPONSORS: Rep Winter (not to be confused with Sen Faith Winter!), Sen Paisley | SUMMARY: The ban on the ban of fracked gas hookups is back! The annual clap trap about how we can all have solar, plus micro wind turbines and miniature hydroelectric dams to power our homes, and oh, also fracked gas. | OPPOSE | Postponed Indefinitely

HB23-1163 | Revoke Carbon Dioxide Status As A Pollutant | Concerning a prohibition against classifying carbon dioxide as a pollutant. | SPONSORS: Rep ‘what’s the frequency Kenneth’ DeGraaf, Bottoms, Winter (not that one!) | SUMMARY: Bunch of Leg Dec BS regarding the ‘minimal’ negative effects of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere as a contributor to greenhouse gases in comparison to other, ‘more harmful’ emissions (Here’s a parody clip of John McLaughlin yelling “Wrong!”) Prohibits the classification of carbon dioxide as a pollutant in the state…and any/all regulations AND must not include the regulation of carbon dioxide emissions as a pollutant. Any portion of an executive agency rule that treats carbon dioxide emissions as a pollutant is void. (My grandfather had an expression that seems apt here: “This ain’t worth the power and lead to blow it up.”) | OPPOSE |

HB23- 1148 | Temp Prohibition On Rule-making After Rule Adopted | Concerning certain limitations on an executive agency’s ability to engage in additional rule-making within a specified period of time following the agency’s adoption of a rule. | SPONSORS: Rep Evans, Sen Pelton B. | SUMMARY: The bill prohibits an executive rule-making agency, on or after September 1, 2023, from amending an existing rule or adopting a new rule concerning the same subject matter as the existing rule for the 3 years following the existing rule’s adoption. The following rules are exempt from the 3-year prohibition period: Rules required by state statute, federal statute, or federal regulation; Imperatively necessary for the preservation of public health, safety, or welfare and for which compliance with the 3-year prohibition would be contrary to the public interest; Temporary or emergency rules, which remain effective for 120 days or less; and Rules that a member of the regulated community petitions to be amended and for which the rule-making agency grants the petition. (This bill if passed would prevent the second half of the 2023 Ozone SIP from going forward, which would mean we’re not addressing NOx emissions, a chemical required to form ozone. Also no GHGs fee schedule rulemaking because we regulated GHGs in the midstream sector last month, and so much more. No Cumulative Impacts rulemaking at the COGCC because we began that in 2021 but did next to nothing. Still, no more rulemaking for you! And the impacts go on and on.) | OPPOSE |

HB23-1166 | Repeal Retail Delivery Fees | Concerning the elimination of retail delivery fees | SPONSORS: Rep Pugliese, Sen Will | SUMMARY:  As authorized by current law, retail delivery fees are imposed on each retail delivery by {…a bunch of state fees as created by previous statute or the SustainableTransportation bill SB21-260) and we’re gonna repeal ‘em effective instantly. 

HB23-1134 | Require Electric Options In Home Warranties | Concerning mandatory provisions in home warranty service contracts, and, in connection therewith, requiring a home warranty service contract to include terms allowing a homeowner to replace any of certain gas-fueled devices with a device that operates on electricity or to receive an amount that is equivalent to the retail cash value of the gas-fueled device. | SPONSORS: Reps Joseph/Kipp, Sen Cutter | SUMMARY: The bill requires that, on and after January 1, 2024, every home warranty service contract that provides coverage for the replacement of any of certain gas-fueled appliances must include terms: Allowing the homeowner to replace the gas-fueled appliance with an electric one; describing minimum efficiency and performance standards for each gas-fueled appliance and for electric replacements; and allowing the homeowner to receive an equivalent cash value of a gas-fueled appliance in lieu of a replacement appliance. | Passed Committee

HB23-1137 | Solar Garden Net Metering Credits Stabilization | Concerning measures to stabilize net metering credits calculated for an electric retail utility’s purchase of electric output from a community solar garden. | SPONSORS: Reps Lukens/Valdez, Sens Hansen/Roberts | SUMMARY: Current law requires an electric retail utility (utility) to offer a net metering credit as the means of purchasing output from a community solar garden (CSG) located within the utility’s service territory and establishes the means of calculating the net metering credit. The bill maintains that calculation if the credits change annually. However, if the CSG indicates to the utility that the CSG’s subscribers’ bill credits are fixed, the bill provides a different calculation for determining the net metering credit. Can’t attach fees to riders on the bill. | Passed Committee

HB23-1154 | Ballot Issue Greenhouse Gas Emissions Report | Concerning requirements for ballot initiatives to include the projected environmental impact report, requiring the title of the initiative to reflect the findings of the report, and include findings in the ballot information booklet entry for such initiatives. | SPONSOR: Rep Valdez | SUMMARY: The Concerning statement says it all.

⭐️ HB23-1161 | Environmental Standards For Appliances | Concerning environmental standards for certain products. | SPONSORS: Reps Kipp/Willford, Sen Cutter | SUMMARY: Sections 1 through 7 of the bill expand the appliances and fixtures that are subject to the standards and update the standards. (…lots more commercial and residential appliances than the last bill.) Includes important appliances like electric water heaters, air purifiers, gas fireplaces. Requires CDPHE to keep appliance standards up to date every 5 years. If you get caught selling disapproved appliances your fine goes to the Energy Office. Eliminates mercury in lighting (particularly fluorescent tubes). Authorizes inspections. | SUPPORT |

⭐️ SB23-092 | Agricultural Producers Use Of Agrivoltaics | Concerning opportunities for voluntary emission reductions in agriculture. | SPONSORS: Sens Simpson/Hansen, Reps McCormick/Soper (Wonderfully Bi-partisan in both houses) |  SUMMARY: In support of the use of agrivoltaics, the bill authorizes the agricultural drought and climate resilience office (office) to award grants for new or ongoing demonstration or research projects that demonstrate or study the use of agrivoltaics. Authorizes the Colorado water conservation board (board) to finance a project to study the feasibility of using aquavoltaics, which are solar energy generation facilities placed over, or floating on, irrigation canals or reservoirs. Amends the statutory definition of “solar energy facility”, used in determining the valuation of public utilities for property tax purposes, to include agrivoltaics and aquavoltaics.Requires the commissioner of agriculture and energy office, the air quality control commission, and an institution of higher education to examine GHGs reduction and carbon sequestration opportunities in Ag. This bill is not a mandate. | SUPPORT |

Week 3 Bills

HB23-1096 | Wildfire Resilient Homes | Concerning the promotion of wildfire resilient houses. | SPONSORS: Rep. Snyder | SUMMARY: The bill expands the wildfire mitigation grant program to allow grant recipients to expend grant money on programs for houses built/rebuilt in areas of high risk of wildfires. The forest service is required to promote wildfire resistant housing strategies and publish their ongoing efforts.

HB23-1101 | Ozone Season Transit Grant Program Flexibility | Concerning support for transit, and, in connection therewith, increasing the flexibility of the ozone season transit grant program and increasing opportunities for transit agency participation in regional transportation planning. | SPONSORS: Reps. Vigil/Bacon, Sen Winter. | SUMMARY: Section 1 of the bill increases the flexibility of the ozone season transit grant program by: Allowing an eligible transit agency to designate a different period of the calendar year for its “ozone season”; retain any grant money that it does not spend in the year for use in a subsequent year; an eligible transit agency may use grant money to expand free services or free routes or increase the frequency of service on routes for which free service is already offered; and Allowing the regional transportation district to use grant money to cover the full costs, rather than up to 80% of the costs. Fund $3M for a transit assoc and $11M for a trans district | Passed House E&E

SB23-079 | Nuclear Energy As A Clean Energy Resource | Concerning the inclusion of nuclear energy as a source of clean energy. | SPONSORS: Sen Liston also Baisley/Gardner/Kirkmeyer/Lundeen/Pelton B./Pelton R./Rich/Simpson/Van Winkle/Will | SUMMARY: “Clean energy” means energy derived from biomass, geothermal energy; solar energy; small hydroelectricity; NUCLEAR ENERGY; and wind energy, as well as any hydrogen derived from any of the foregoing ENERGY SOURCES LISTED IN THIS SUBSECTION. “Clean energy resource” means any electricity-generating technology that generates or stores electricity without emitting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. (I’m amused that virtually every Republican Senator has signed on as a cosponsor right out of the gate!) | OPPOSE

Week 2 Bills

⭐️ HB23-1069 | Study Biochar In Plugging Of Oil And Gas Wells | Concerning the creation of the biochar in oil and gas well plugging working advisory group to make recommendations for the development of a pilot program to study the use of biochar in the plugging of oil and gas wells. SPONSORS: Rep McCormick, Sen Cutter | SUMMARY: The bill creates the biochar in oil and gas well plugging working advisory group (work group) in the COGCCoil and gas conservation commission (commission). The work group must submit a draft report to the commission detailing its recommendations for the pilot program. After coordinating with the commission to develop a final report, the work group must present the report to the transportation and Senate T&E/House E&E by 1/1/24. | SUPPORT with amendments accepted by the sponsor |

⭐️ HB23-1074 | Study Workforce Transitions To Other Industries | Concerning a study regarding workforce transitions to other industries. | SPONSORS: Reps Dickson/Amabile | SUMMARY: The bill requires a study of workforce transitions in Colorado’s economy. The workforce transitions study (study) must: Evaluate the skill transferability of workers in the oil and gas industry and in occupations in Colorado that are facing the most disruption due to automation; Explore training availability, skills needed, and transition strategies; and Provide recommendations for programs and policies to prepare the workforce for these transitions to Senate BLT/House BAL by 1/124. | SUPPORT with amendments accepted by the sponsor | Passed Committee

HB23-1075 | Wildfire Evacuation And Clearance Time Modeling | Concerning evacuation and clearance time modeling in wildfire risk areas of the state. SPONSORS: Rep Snyder SUMMARY: The bill directs the office of emergency management (office) to provide resources and technical assistance to conduct evacuation and clearance time modeling and to publish the results to an interactive website. On and after July 1, 2026, each local and interjurisdictional emergency management agency that has jurisdiction in a wildfire risk area must perform evacuation and clearance time modeling and include the information in the emergency management plan for its area. On 1/1/24 requires that proposed developments of a certain size, a developer must perform evacuation and clearance time modeling for the proposed development and submit the information to the local government that will consider the application for a development permit for approval. A local government cannot approve an application for a development permit submitted on or after that date unless the application includes the evacuation and clearance time modeling and the local government determines that it is adequate for the proposed development.

HB23-1080 | Reliable Alternative Energy Sources | Concerning alternative energy sources, and, in connection therewith, requiring a feasibility study for the use of small modular nuclear reactors as a source of carbon-free energy and specifying the maximum nameplate capacity of a generation unit for pumped hydroelectricity that qualifies as recycled energy under the renewable energy standard. | SPONSORS: Rep Winter, Sen Pelton | SUMMARY: Concerning alternative energy sources, and, in connection therewith, requiring a feasibility study for the use of small modular nuclear reactors as a source of carbon-free energy and specifying the maximum nameplate capacity of a generation unit for pumped hydroelectricity that qualifies as recycled energy under the renewable energy standard. Requires a study on the feasibility of using small modular nuclear reactors as a carbon-free energy source in the state (feasibility study) by 7/1/25. Also for pumped hydro only, increases nameplate capacity to 400MW from 15MW. | OPPOSE |

HB23-1085 | Rural County and Municipality Energy Efficient Building Codes | Concerning modification of the requirements for local governments in rural areas to adopt energy efficient building codes, and, in connection therewith, amending the definition of a rural county, defining a rural municipality, and extending the energy efficient building code compliance periods for both. SPONSORS: Rep Martinez, Sen Simpson | SUMMARY: A rural county, which is defined as a county with a population of less than 30,000 people, is permitted to adopt a less current model code if it has applied for and not been awarded a grant that significantly assists with energy code adoption and enforcement training, and extends the compliance periods:

  • An energy code that achieves equivalent or better energy performance than the 2021 international energy conservation code and the model electric ready and solar ready code language developed by the energy board is not required prior to July 1, 2030, instead of being required concurrently with any county code building code update occurring on or after July 1, 2023, and before July 1, 2026;
  • An energy code that achieves equivalent or better energy and carbon emissions performance than the model low energy and carbon code developed by the energy board is not required prior to July 1, 2032, instead of being required concurrently with any county code building code update occurring on or after July 1, 2026; and
  • An energy code that achieves equivalent or better energy performance than one of the 3 most recent editions of the international energy conservation code is not required prior to July 1, 2025, instead of being required concurrently with any county code building code adoption or update occurring before July 1, 2023.

Section 2 defines a rural municipality as a municipality with a population of less than 10,000 people and extends the compliance periods for adoption and enforcement of the model energy codes in an identical manner to that outlined above for rural counties. The bill adds language allowing a rural municipality to adopt a less current model code if it has applied for and not been awarded a grant that significantly assists with energy code adoption and enforcement training.

HB23-1092 | Limitating Use of State Money | Concerning limitations on the use of state money, and, in connection therewith, requiring the public employees’ retirement association to make investments solely on financial factors, prohibiting certain government contracts with entities that engage in economic boycotts, and requiring the state treasurer to invest money eligible for investment solely on financial factors. SPONSOR: Bockenfeld | SUMMARY: The bill prohibits state money from being used to further certain social, political, or ideological interests beyond what controlling state and federal law require. Requires PERA to make investments solely on financial factors and prohibiting PERA from investing in an entity with a stated purpose to further certain social, political, or ideological interests beyond what federal and state law require (nonfinancial commitment). Requires a government contract to include a verification that a company entering into a government contract does not, and will not during the term of the contract, engage in an economic boycott of another company to further certain social, political, or ideological interests. Prohibits a person from penalizing a financial institution for complying with the non-economic boycott verification requirement. Requires the state treasurer to make investments solely on financial factors, prohibits the state treasurer from investing in entities with a stated nonfinancial commitment, and gives the attorney general authority to enforce these investment requirements. | OPPOSE | PI’D

Week 1 bills

HB23-1005 – New Energy Improvement Program Changes | Concerning changes to the new energy improvement program, and, in connection therewith, adding resiliency improvements and water efficiency improvements to the program, modifying the new energy improvement district’s notice requirements, and removing the district’s hearing requirement. | SPONSORS: Rep Wilford/Titone, Sen Jaquez Lewis |  SUMMARY: Amends the Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy program (C-PACE) to also apply to the district to finance resiliency improvements and water efficiency improvements. Additionally, when the district approves a C-PACE application, an owner consents to the district levying a special assessment on an owner’s eligible real property. | Passed the House

HB23-1010 – Task Force On High-altitude Water Storage | Concerning a task force to study the feasibility of high-altitude water storage in Colorado. | SPONSORS: Rep McLachlan, Sens Bridges/Simpson (Bipartisan) | SUMMARY: The bill creates a task force to study the feasibility of implementing water storage in the form of snow in high-altitude areas of the state (task force). The task force must submit a report to the water resources and agriculture review committee on or before June 1, 2024, which report will include the feasibility of implementing high-altitude water storage in Colorado; issues considered by the task force; and any legislative proposals. | Postponed Indefinitely (PI’d)

HB23-1018 – Timber Industry Incentives | Concerning incentives to promote the timber industry in Colorado, and, in connection therewith, creating an internship program in the Colorado state forest service and creating a state income tax credit for the purchase of qualifying items used in timber production and forest health. | SPONSORS: Rep Lynch, Sen Simpson | SUMMARY: The bill creates the timber, forest health, and wildfire mitigation industries workforce development program (program) in the state forest service. The program provides partial reimbursement to timber businesses and forest health or wildfire mitigation entities for the costs of hiring interns. Beginning on or after January 1, 2023-2028, a timber business may claim a credit against state income tax for 20% of the cost of certain equipment, vehicles, and equipment infrastructure. The total aggregate credit in any one income tax year is limited to $10,000.

HB23-1039 – Electric Resource Adequacy Reporting – Concerning a requirement that electric load-serving entities periodically report about the adequacy of their electric resources. | SPONSORS: Rep Bird, Sens Rodriguez/Winter | SUMMARY: Annually beginning April 1, 2024, an entity providing retail or wholesale electricity services in the state must file an annual report detailing the adequacy of its electric resources to the PUC. PUC must aggregate and deliver a report to the CEO (Colorado Energy Office) by July 1 each year, who will create a statewide resource report. Won’t apply to those active in an RTO (Regional Transmission Org) or ISO (Independent System Operator) or voluntary regional resources adequacy reporting program. | SUPPORT | Passed House E&E

SB23-005 – Forestry And Wildfire Mitigation Workforce – Concerning measures to expand the forestry workforce, develop educational materials for high school students about career opportunities in forestry and wildfire mitigation; creating a workforce development program to help fund internships; authorizing the expansion and creation of forestry programs in the community college system and at Colorado mountain college; and recruit wildland fire prevention and mitigation educators. SPONSORS: Sens Jaquez Lewis/Cutter | SUMMARY: Directs the Colorado state forest service to develop educational materials relating to career opportunities in forestry/wildfire mitigation for high school guidance counselors. Creates the timber, forest health, and wildfire mitigation industries workforce development program in the SFS. Authorizes the expansion of existing forestry programs, including wildfire mitigation, and the creation of a new forestry program within the community college system. Directs the state board for community colleges to increase the number of teachers. | Passed Senate Ag

SB23-010 – Water Resources And Agriculture Review Committee | Concerning the water resources and agriculture review committee. | SPONSORS: Sens Bridges/Simpson, Rep McLachlan (bipartisan) | SUMMARY:  The bill makes the water resources and agriculture review committee permanent, and removes limitations on the number of meetings and the number of field trips the committee may hold, plus requires the committee to meet at least 4 times during each calendar year. | Passed Senate Ag

SB23-016 – Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Measures | Concerning measures to promote reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in Colorado. | SPONSORS: Sen Hansen, Reps McCormick/Sirota | SUMMARY: Section 1 of the bill requires that, beginning in 2024, each $100M+ insurance company must complete the NAIC’s “Insurer Climate Risk Disclosure Survey”. Section 2 requires the public employees’ retirement association (PERA) board, on or before June 1, 2024, to ensure voting decisions are supportive of the statewide greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction goals, and include in annual report a description of climate-related investment risks, impacts, and strategies. Section 4 adds wastewater thermal energy equipment to the definition of “pollution control equipment” and to the definition of “clean heat resource” for inclusion in its clean heat plan filed with the PUC. Section 6 updates the statewide GHG emission reduction goals to add a 65% reduction goal for 2035, an 80% reduction goal for 2040, a 90% reduction goal for 2045 and converts the current 90% by 2050 goal to 100%. Section 7 gives the oil and gas conservation commission (COGCC) authority over class VI injection wells used for sequestration of GHG. Section 8 establishes a state income tax credit in an amount equal to 30% of the purchase price for new, electric-powered yard/lawn equipment for purchases made in income tax years 2024 through 2026. Section 9 determines the calculation if a CSG’s (Community Solar Garden) net meter bill credits change annually. Sections 10 through 12 incorporate projects to renovate or recondition existing utility transmission lines into the “Colorado Electric Transmission Authority Act”, allowing the CETA to finance and renovate, rebuild, or recondition existing transmission lines and requires expedited land use decisions. | SUPPORT (with amendments) | Passed Senate T&E

SB23-026 – Financial Institution Discrimination Environmental Criteria | Concerning prohibiting discrimination by financial institutions based on environmental criteria. | SPONSOR: Sen R Pelton | SUMMARY: The bill prohibits financial institutions that do business in the state from discriminating against any person based on environmental criteria. A financial institution’s violation of this prohibition is an unfair or deceptive trade practice. (Prevents banks from refusing to fund heavy polluting activities). | OPPOSE | Postponed Indefinitely (PI’d = failed in Committee)

SB23-032 – Wildfire Detection Technology Pilot Program | Concerning the establishment of a wildfire detection technology system pilot program, and, in connection therewith, making an appropriation. | SPONSORS: Sens Simpson/Ginal, Rep Lynch (bipartisan) | SUMMARY: The bill requires the center of excellence for advanced technology aerial firefighting (center of excellence) in  the department of public safety to establish one or more remote camera technology pilot programs., which may use artificial intelligence and must use remote pan-tilt-zoom cameras and associated tools to provide a live feed of information that can detect, locate, and confirm ignition in the wildland-urban interface. The center of excellence must report to the wildfire matters review committee on the system’s effectiveness and potential for more widespread use in the state.

Section 2 defines a rural municipality as a municipality with a population of less than 10,000 people and extends the compliance periods for adoption and enforcement of the model energy codes in an identical manner to that outlined above for rural counties. The bill adds language allowing a rural municipality to adopt a less current model code if it has applied for and not been awarded a grant that significantly assists with energy code adoption and enforcement training. | Passed Senate Ag

By Jan Rose, Legislative Analyst and Spokesperson

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