Up and down the Front Range, Coloradans have come to know bad air-quality days as the norm during summer months. The sky turns hazy, the air feels thick, eyes burn, throats scratch and we are reminded to hunker down inside. Without action from our state leaders, and the appointees who have been charged with cleaning up our air and protecting our health, we will have more days like this, moving further away from the Colorado of bluebird skies and endless opportunity for outdoor activity that we know and love.

Nearly 58% of the state’s population lives in the Denver metro and north Front Range region, with Denver listed as the eighth-most ozone-polluted city in the United States. That’s 3.3 million people who deal with the adverse effects of poor air quality. Local government leaders have stepped up to the plate to do everything we can to support our communities and address these challenges. But the air doesn’t pay attention to city and county lines; we desperately need the support of the state. It is time for the Regional Air Quality Council (RAQC) and Air Quality Control Commission (AQCC) to open their eyes to the realities that Coloradans, especially those in marginalized and low-income communities, are facing and act.

In the coming weeks and months, both the RAQC and AQCC will be hearing from local leaders like me about individual air-quality monitoring and modeling studies, elevated ozone levels and continued methane emissions from oil and gas locations, and making decisions about the State Implementation Plans (SIPs). The evidence that we have to show them is overwhelming.

In 2021 there were 75 Ozone Action Alerts. During high ozone days public health officials recommend staying indoors and limiting exercise. This means that last summer there were 75 days where Colorado residents were told to stay inside and minimize their physical activity during the afternoon and evening. During that same time period, all 13 of the ozone monitors in the Denver Metro/North Front Range area recorded one or more exceedances of the more protective 2015 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) of 70 parts-per-billion (ppb) while 11 monitors exceeded the 2008 NAAQS of 75 ppb.

These dangerous trends put millions of Coloradans’ health at risk. Ozone pollution is not just dangerous for our lungs. Scientists have linked ozone pollution to cardiovascular disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes. To make matters even worse, ozone impacts hit especially hard in disproportionately impacted communities. These communities suffer from the cumulative impacts of additional air pollution as well as soil and water pollution. High ozone levels on top of high localized pollution can lead to even worse health outcomes in the very communities that often have limited access to health care.

There is so much more that Colorado can be doing much more to protect its residents. A coalition of local governments in and near the non-attainment area recently submitted a letter outlining nine additional control measures the State can take to reduce pollution and protect the health and safety of its residents. These were: committing to adopt Advanced Clean Cars II as soon as possible to reduce emissions from vehicles; adopt programs to increase public-transit ridership and pedestrian infrastructure; adopt indirect source rules; limit high-emitting oil and gas activities during ozone season; adopt strong flare minimization plans for oil and gas operations; require stronger flaring control and flare minimize plans at Suncor; adopt California’s non-road engine standards; adopt small off-road engine emissions standards; and adopt low Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) appliance requirements for residential and commercial buildings.

In the grand scheme of challenges that we are facing as a state and a country and what we will need to do to address them, these are not monumental changes. It will take sustained, committed, collaborative effort, but our shared vision of a beautiful and healthy state is possible — the RAQC and AQCC just have to get onboard.

Meredith Leighty, a Democrat, is the mayor of Northglenn.