Meet the Air Team: Matt Conroy, Environmental Attorney

Published on November 28, 2024

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Matt Conroy can still remember his father, an environmental engineer, working on cleanup efforts at the Summitville Gold Mine located in Colorado’s San Juan Mountains in the ’90s. Hearing about the work his father did to clean up the contamination from cyanide leaching — a process used to extract gold from the mine — opened Conroy’s eyes to the positive impact people can have on the environment.

Now, as an assistant Weld County attorney, he gets the opportunity to leave his own positive mark on the environment through his work  on air quality. It’s a task that satisfies his passion, interest and curiosity.

“I’ve always cared about the environment,” Conroy said. “I’m an engineer at heart, and I love solving problems.”

His problem-solving skills were honed while obtaining law degrees at Columbia University. While he primarily studied issues related to water quality, the challenge of understanding the ozone problem and how it affects air quality in Weld County is something he’s embraced.

“There’s a lot more variation with ozone compared to other issues, like water quality,” Conroy said. Those issues, Conroy explained, extend to what contaminants actually affect ozone as well as the beliefs at the state level regarding how to better regulate air quality.

Using his legal background and his love of problem solving, Conroy meets regularly with the Weld County Board of Commissioners to answer questions about state air quality regulations. These meetings allow the Board to develop an official, fact-driven stance, which Conroy or the commissioners themselves can present during Colorado’s legislative session every year or in rulemaking meetings with the Air Quality Control Commission, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, and Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission.

“There have been a massive number of regulations concerning air quality since 2016,” Conroy said. “I provide specific advice on what these regulations mean to Weld County — the upsides and the downsides.”

Conroy explained the upsides and downsides to each piece of legislation could impact the health, safety and welfare of residents as well as change how important industries in Weld County operate, such as the oil and gas industry, or emerging wind and solar industries. It’s important that Weld County has a seat at the table to ensure regulations make sense and are achievable.

Whether it’s feedback on a state regulation or offering comment on initiatives like Gov. Polis’ Greenhouse Gas Pollution Roadmap, the collaboration between the Board and Conroy ensures Weld County always has a voice in the state’s decision-making regarding air quality.

This work is also helping to debunk the claim that Weld County simply doesn’t care about the environment. Conroy explained nothing could be farther from the truth.

“We care and are here as a resource,” Conroy said, alluding to the effort of Dr. Annareli Morales and the Weld County Department of Public Health and Environment to monitor and study the air in Weld County. “The work we’re doing regarding air quality is important, because we’re taking steps to truly know about our air quality, while others may just be connecting gaps.”

It’s knowledge the Board can use to establish Weld County’s position on air quality issues, which helps protect the health, safety and welfare of residents and the environment; it helps keep residents informed; and it helps Conroy continue a longstanding family tradition of caring for the environment.

 

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