Controversial air pollution bill now law in Colorado despite industry opposition
Gov. Jared Polis has signed a bill that will strengthen Colorado’s policing of air pollution above what the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency currently requires.
The new law targets 188 pollutants the federal government recognizes as hazardous but doesn’t directly regulate under the Clean Air Act.
The Air Quality Control Commission will be tasked with determining the highest priority contaminants based on their potential risk to public health and crafting regulations to reduce their presence in the air.
The law also increases air monitoring around the state and requires companies to report their annual emissions of certain pollutants.
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More than 30 years after the last major update of the Clean Air Act, the U.S. Supreme Court has upended the ability of Congress to give the Environmental Protection Agency and other federal agencies broad scope to combat air pollution, including the emission of greenhouse gases. Meanwhile, further Biden administration efforts to limit emissions face opposition in the courts.