Denver metro and northern Front Range Coloradans will be paying for more expensive gasoline – unless Gov. Jared Polis decides to ask the federal government to reconsider a pending downgrade of the regional air quality compliance rating.

Polis faced a similar situation in 2019, when the Environmental Protection Agency also downgraded the region’s air quality ratings. That year, Polis decided not to fight that determination.

This time, however, the downgrade would mean residents in Colorado’s non-attainment region would have to pay for a more expensive blend of gasoline.  

In May, Colorado business leaders pleaded with Polis to ask the EPA to extend compliance with air quality deadlines so residents of the state’s most populous region can avoid paying for what some describe as the “California blend” of gasoline.

Polis said all options are on the table, including seeking a delay in the EPA determination. 

“Governor Polis will aggressively explore whatever legal means necessary to avoid increases in the price of gas,” Conor Cahill, a spokesperson for Polis, said in a statement to The Denver Gazette.

“Absolutely a request for an extension is one of the legal means that would be pursued if Colorado ever faces increased gas prices from EPA Action. There are other potential actions as well that could avoid the increase as part of the governor’s aggressive strategy to save people money on gas,” Cahill said in a follow up statement. 

Conor added that Polis has requested a “full set of potential actions, including an analysis of the likelihood of success for different aggressive actions.”

In their letter, the 23 Colorado business leaders said without the extension, the new gasoline blend, if imposed, would cost Colorado consumers at least $0.51 more per gallon and would hurt consumers and companies alike.

“The economic impacts from the EPA’s proposed downgrade could be felt across communities and industries for years to come,” the executives said in a May letter to Polis, noting Colorado’s 9.1% inflation rate at the time, gasoline prices nearing historic highs and the cost of groceries that are straining families’ budgets.

At issue is the EPA’s pending downgrade of ozone control categorization for the region, which includes the Denver metro area and eight counties along the Front Range from Douglas County to northern Weld County.

As a result of missed ozone control targets over the last three years, federal environmental regulations automatically trigger a requirement for reformulated gasoline (RFG) starting one year after a final EPA determination that the air pollution control region has been moved to the “severe” non-attainment category. The new gasoline must meet stricter standards to minimize emission of chemicals that contribute to the creation of ozone, which increases refining costs.

Robert Ukeiley, an attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity, insisted that the 2019 and 2022 situations are unrelated when it comes to paying for the more expensive form of gasoline. Specifically, he said the 2019 issue revolved around a downgrade from a “moderate” to a “serious” classification, while today’s issue deals with the downgrade from a “serious” to a “severe” classification.

“The two actions are unrelated when it comes to reformulated gas,” Ukeiley said in an email.

Shortly after his election in 2019, Polis had sent a letter asking the EPA to withdraw Colorado’s request for an extension to meet those standards. Polis’ predecessor in the governor’s office, now U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper, had sought the extension.

Saying it was of “vital importance” to meet a 2008 EPA ozone standard, Polis wrote, “We believe that the interests of our citizens are best served by moving aggressively forward and without delay in our efforts to reduce ground level ozone concentrations in the Denver Metro/North Front Range non-attainment area.”

Noting the potential cost to Coloradans, as well as the significant ongoing strides in ozone reduction technology, the business leaders in their May letter asked Polis to reconsider.

When reached by The Denver Gazette, the Governor’s Office reiterated that options are being considered to ensure Coloradans don’t pay a higher gas price. 

“He is hopeful that the steps already taken will lead to cleaner air and prevent an EPA downgrade, but if Colorado is still facing an EPA downgrade, he will certainly look at all viable strategies to avoid or delay an increase in the price of gas including requesting an extension,” Cahill said.

Cahill also noted that, if motorists in metro Denver are required to pay for a different gasoline formulation and only during certain summer months, it would lead to vastly different gas prices in different parts of the state – a situation that, he said, the governor wants to avoid.

“The governor believes that people will likely drive more to access significantly less-expensive gas, which further demonstrates how counterproductive the mandatory EPA measures are and why he will seek to avoid them if Colorado doesn’t achieve the ozone emission reductions,” Cahill said. 

Rich Mylott, an EPA spokesperson, said the earliest the RFG requirement would potentially apply to the region is the summer of 2024.

“The Clean Air Act does allow for states to request extensions to various requirements under specific circumstances,” he said.

Mylott said EPA’s proposal to reclassify Denver to the severe category is part of a larger agency action to evaluate and reclassify ozone non-attainment areas across the U.S.

“EPA is currently reviewing public comment on the April proposal and expects to issue final determinations for all of these areas later this year,” he said.

Ozone concentrations in the non-attainment region during the summer have been a problem for decades, and although the Colorado Department of Health and Environment notes that air quality has improved greatly over the past several decades, the agency says it has been difficult for the state to “comply with increasingly stringent federal standards.”

The ozone standard set in 2008 is 75 parts per billion (ppb), and a newer standard set in 2015 lowers the acceptable level to 70 ppb. For complex reasons, both the 2008 and 2015 standards apply to Colorado, causing conflicts in the required compliance dates. One EPA standard compliance is required by 2024, and under the other, 2027.

Critics of EPA’s ozone standards say a majority of the problems in the Denver basin are not the fault of residents, but rather, they come from uncontrollable natural, out-of-state and even international sources, and that ozone level violations usually occur in specific areas affecting fewer than half of the region’s 16 ozone monitors.

“Most of our ozone, 60%, is naturally occurring, blows in from other states and countries, or is caused by wildfires. Colorado could have gotten relief from these emissions that are outside our control, but the governor chose not to ask for that,” said Rich Coolidge, director of public affairs for the Colorado Oil & Gas Association.

“You could question how much bang for our buck we’re going to get if we have to impose RFG,” added Mike Paules, associate director of the American Petroleum Institute. “And it could cause hardship for not just our only refinery in Colorado, but the fact that we have to depend on other refineries in other states to also make RFG and then pipe it into Colorado.”

Paules added: “So, it’s uncertain what the impact of this could be on Colorado, not just for the cost of making it here in Colorado, but how it’s going to affect the market dynamics.”

According to Leah Schleifer, a communications and outreach specialist for the state Air Pollution Control Division, the pricier reformulated gasoline would only be required in the summer – during ozone season – and only in the non-attainment region.

“We agree with your aim to make Colorado’s air cleaner and our state more affordable, but the EPA’s downgrade works against us,” the business executives said in their letter. “Requesting an extension will help to provide much needed relief to Coloradans and businesses and allow our air improvement policies and those out-of-state to further take hold.”

Editor’s note: This story has been updated with comments from the Governor’s Office, which vowed to explore all options, including seeking a delay in the EPA determination, to avoid a gas price hike on Coloradans living in metro Denver. In addition, this story includes comments from a lawyer that the 2019 and 2022 situations are unrelated when it comes to paying for the more expensive blend of gasoline.