Vice President Kamala Harris visited Denver last month to discuss the. The Vice President particularly highlighted the unprecedented federal investments this administration has championed through the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for clean energy initiatives, climate resilience and environmental justice. As an elected official, I am charged with protecting the health, safety and welfare of our constituents. It is reassuring that our leaders in Washington, D.C.
The federal climate funding investments are providing local governments like ours with the opportunity to build sustainable and resilient communities. We also need swift action from Washington in implementing crucial rules limiting climate-damaging emissions from oil and gas operations.is finalizing a rule to reduce methane emissions from new and existing oil and gas operations.
The EPA’s proposed draft includes leak detection and repair requirements for all wells, zero-emitting requirements for off-grid well equipment, and an important monitoring program to respond to super-emitter events. The final version should go even further by requiring the capture of gas associated with oil drilling, applying emission standards to a broader range of storage tanks, and better equipping communities to participate in the super-emitter response program.
A final public comment period on the draft proposal ended in mid-February. Now it is time for quick action from the Biden administration to get this rule over the finish line and to protect our communities and climate future. Vice President Harris made stops in several other states earlier this year on climate-related business, including Arizona, California, Michigan, Georgia and Minnesota. It’s important that administrative officials make these in-person visits to see with their own eyes exactly what’s at stake. Evidence of climate change and air pollution is rampant throughout the West and nationwide, and there are certainly plenty of examples in Colorado.