Basalt Town Council member and Aspen Skiing Company vice president Auden Schendler has been appointed to a state commission on air quality.
The Air Quality Control Commission is tasked with preventing and controlling pollution in Colorado, including setting rules. Under direction from the governor, the commission is now developing vehicle emission standards that will exceed the national requirements.
Schedler was chosen to serve because of his scientific and technical experience. He said it’s important that states take a leadership role in acting on climate and pollution issues, and the commission’s work on vehicle emissions could push other states to do the same.
“If other states start adopting those standards, then it could spread throughout the country,” Schendler said.
Colorado’s air quality commission has led the nation in the past; in 2014, it passed the country’s first methane rule, which requires oil and gas companies to limit leaking of the potent greenhouse gas.
Schendler’s appointment begins in October.
