An oil storage tank installation in Larimer County was ordered shut down Thursday by state air pollution regulators after what it says are repeated failures to control leakage of noxious vapors from the site that residential neighbors say are both annoying and harmful to their health.

Rural green transit projects win $51 million in federal funds

The state Air Pollution Control Division has authority to shut down a facility if it “creates an unhealthy or disruptive environment for nearby residences or businesses,” according to the APCD.

“This is an exceptional and rare course of action, and we do not take it lightly,” said Michael Ogletree, director of the Air Pollution Control Division in a Thursday press release. “This is a unique situation that calls for extraordinary measures to ensure we are protecting public welfare.”

Since 2021 the state has been conducting inspections of Prospect Energy’s Krause oil storage tank battery northeast of Fort Collins based on complaints from nearby residents who reported foul odors — mostly, says the APCD, from hydrogen sulfide, a colorless gas normally associated with oil extraction that smells like rotten eggs.

The inspectors also detected emissions of volatile organic compounds that contribute to the creation of ozone on several occasions.

Ozone is a big problem for the Denver metro and Northern Front Range ozone non-attainment region. Denver residents are already facing the prospect of higher gasoline prices because of missed EPA ozone targets if the region is downgraded to the “severe” ozone pollution category.

According to Earthworks, an environmental organization that says it is “the only national organization in the U.S. to focus exclusively on preventing the destructive impacts of the extraction of oil, gas, and minerals,” emissions from the tanks go back as far as 2018.

Four APCD enforcement actions against Prospect Energy since last December resulted in the division claiming a “pattern of violations within the company.” The division says that information from Prospect Energy shows that the Krause tank site “is not properly designed, operated, or maintained.”

Federal, state officials meet in Aurora to tout grants for electric buses

The press release said an Aug. 11 inspection found that illegal emissions have continued.

The division also says “appropriate” representatives of Prospect Energy failed to attend compliance advisory meetings.

Attempts to contact Prospect Energy LLC owner Ward Giltner were unsuccessful as of press time.