Did anyone catch the recent message from nature? It gave rock concert at Red Rocks a whole new meaning! And the throw down on Highlands Ranch and environs the next day was astounding. Now the heat is coming and the air is browning up.

So let’s examine what’s going on at the home front to deal with nature’s argument that our human junk is creating all that bad hot air.

In 2019 the legislature passed SB19-181 to protect people and the environment from hazardous material and toxic substances that pollute air, water and land. The legislation focused on extraction industries and their products, primarily oil and gas. Various state agencies regulate different aspects of extraction industries. These include the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC), the air and water quality divisions of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), and the intrastate pipeline safety division of the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA). This delegation of work across different state agencies is part of the problem of implementing SB19-181.

Gov. Jared Polis is not responsible for this sprinkling of responsibilities. It occurred before he ever came to office. But he is responsible for the whole picture, and it’s his administration that has to step up to implement SB19-181 and other legislation in place to protect Colorado’s public health and environment.

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CDPHE is the agency that oversees the Suncor Refinery in Commerce City. Suncor is the state’s only gasoline- and diesel fuel-producing operation that keeps cars and planes moving at about 50 cents less per gallon of gasoline than when Coloradans have to pay for gas from out-of-state producers. It’s also the largest industrial polluter in the state. It’s this fact and Suncor’s in-state monopoly that apparently have Polis and the CDPHE over a barrel.

Suncor has no problem taking advantage of its monopoly position. It means that it can flare and leak and shut down and throw gold-colored clay into the air almost with impunity. It did receive a $9 million fine a few years back for more than 100 incidents and the gold clay event, a drop in the bucket for a $26 billion company.

In any case, the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is now engaging more deeply in Suncor’s impact on close-in communities in an attempt to fulfill its environmental justice mandate. Led by KC Becker, former Speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives and bill sponsor of SB19-181, the EPA initiated a report comparing Suncor to 11 similarly positioned refineries around the nation. They are all operating under consent decrees rather than with operational permits, meaning they have improvements to make. Suncor has been under consent decree since the turn of this century when it was owned by Conoco.

The results of the EPA’s Environmental Research Group (ERG) report show Suncor is at or near the bottom of the gasoline and diesel fuel refining barrel in relation to adverse pollution incidents compared to the other refineries, even though some produce two to three times more barrels of gasoline or diesel fuel per day than Suncor.

For example, Chevron Pascagoula in Mississippi produces 356,000 barrels of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel per day compared to Suncor’s 103,000. Chevron Pascagoula had one tail gas incident in the 2016-2020 research period to Suncor’s 20 incidents. The Mississippi refinery had one acid gas flaring event to Suncor’s 10. The only category in which Suncor produced fewer events than Pascagoula was hydrocarbon flaring, with 32 for Mississippi to 17 for Suncor. Overall, Suncor had 47 events to Pascagoula’s 34.

That record is not a shining light for Suncor. It’s a dark shadow that falls over surrounding communities.

The ERG’s report emphasizes equipment failures in the electrical systems at the plant as a major source of problems. It cites an earlier study by Kearney, another environmental consulting firm, which stated Suncor management had “culture” problems, underestimated risks at the plant, and had inadequate shut-off equipment, which, of course, is not what neighbors want to hear. How do these elements play out?

Evidence appears in an audit of Suncor’s budgeted expenses vs. actual expenses. According to the ERG report, Suncor spent two times the budgeted amount on “emergency” events and 10% less than budgeted on preventive maintenance.

According to an EPA spokesperson, the agency will get more involved in Suncor oversight through CDPHE in its regulatory role. Suncor’s problems haven’t declined since 2020 as the plant shut down for months based on a failure in December 2022 and again this spring. Questions for CDPHE and the EPA arise: are these shut-downs a reflection of improving risk management or of risk failures that have led to emergency maintenance?

Director Becker was term-limited from the state House of Representatives in 2020. She moved to the EPA with President Joe Biden’s election. Polis was elected in 2018 and again in 2022. He’s had five years to crack down on the Suncor monopoly. Maybe Becker has finally lost patience. Maybe CDPHE will now do its job with EPA looking over its shoulder.

Paula Noonan owns Colorado Capitol Watch, the state’s premier legislature tracking platform.