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Aspen Public Radio news keeps you up to date with the latest information on the environment. From the debate over gas/oil drilling in the valley to water and wildlife - you will find our on-going commitment to those stories here.

State increases methane testing on some gas wells

The Colorado Air Quality Control Commission voted last week to increase testing for methane emissions from oil and gas development.

 

The new rules apply only in areas that are now out of compliance with EPA standards for air pollution. This includes nine counties across the Front Range where there is a heavy concentration of oil and gas wells alongside urban development.

Under the new rules, the smallest well pads in this area will be tested for methane annually. Previously, emissions on those well pads were only tested once.

The state’s Air Quality Control staff are looking into expanding this program to drilling operations across Colorado. That will be a two-year process.

 

Aspen native Elizabeth Stewart-Severy is excited to be making a return to both the Red Brick, where she attended kindergarten, and the field of journalism. She has spent her entire life playing in the mountains and rivers around Aspen, and is thrilled to be reporting about all things environmental in this special place. She attended the University of Colorado with a Boettcher Scholarship, and graduated as the top student from the School of Journalism in 2006. Her lifelong love of hockey lead to a stint working for the Colorado Avalanche, and she still plays in local leagues and coaches the Aspen Junior Hockey U-19 girls.
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