Board supports Longmont’s application for methane monitoring program

Published on September 04, 2024

The Weld County Board of Commissioners has submitted a letter of support for the City of Longmont’s application to the Methane Emissions Reduction Program Oil and Gas Methane Monitoring and Mitigation Grant Opportunity.

The grant, if awarded, will assist the City of Longmont in executing a methane monitoring system in the Denver-Metro Northern Front Range Region, including the Denver-Julesburg basin, to identify methane leaks from orphaned, plugged, and marginal oil and gas wells to optimize future methane mitigation efforts across the region. The city will work in collaboration with local government, industry and community partners.

“Data is important for making decisions and policy, so it was a natural fit for Weld County to submit a letter of support for this project,” said Commissioner Chair Kevin Ross.

More than four years ago, Weld County government offered to partner with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) to obtain accurate real-time air quality data, to which CDPHE declined. The county moved forward by investing in its own air quality monitoring towers so that more data could be gathered and included in modeling, which would help local and state government officials make better decisions when it comes to improving the public health of Coloradans.

After three years of data gathering at those monitors, a request was sent to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to have those monitors certified so the information collected could be included in modeling and decision making. Earlier this year, the EPA declined to certify those monitors citing that CDPHE is responsible for air monitoring in the state.

“The narrative of Weld County and its industries, energy and agriculture, as told by many in the legislature is one of being the villain,” said Ross. “In reality, Weld County is just as vested as any other government agency in the state to ensuring the safety, personally and economically, of Colorado residents.

“We have long-been proactive in maintaining a seat at the table, whether it is legislative, policy, or rulemaking by multiple agencies, advocating for data-driven decisions. If there are issues, that need to be corrected, let’s correct them. If the focus needs to be moved to other solutions, then let’s refocus. Hopefully, this opportunity, brought forward by Longmont, will move the conversation and legislation in a direction that truly addresses the concerns.”

Longmont agreed to share the data from the monitoring with agencies, including Weld County.