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Legislative Year: 2024 Change
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Bill Detail: HB24-1338

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Title Cumulative Impacts & Environmental Justice
Status Governor Signed (05/28/2024)
Bill Subjects
  • Natural Resources & Environment
  • Public Health
House Sponsors E. Velasco (D)
M. Rutinel (D)
Senate Sponsors D. Michaelson Jenet (D)
House Committee Energy and Environment
Senate Committee Transportation and Energy
Date Introduced 02/26/2024
Summary

House Bill 21-1266, enacted in 2021, authorized the creation of
the environmental justice action task force to develop recommendations
for measures to achieve environmental justice in the state. The task force
completed its work and published a final report on November 14, 2022,
which report included a recommendation for the development of
environmental equity and cumulative impact analyses (EECIA) in the
state.
Section 2 of the bill creates the office of environmental justice
(office) in the department of public health and environment (CDPHE) and
section 1 requires the office to oversee a process to develop at least 2
EECIAs for specific geographic locations in the state. Once an EECIA is
developed, various state agencies will be able to rely on the EECIA in
conducting cumulative impact analyses regarding potentially polluting
activities.
The office must choose as locations for the EECIAs communities
that are disproportionately impacted communities, with priority given to
communities that have a heightened potential for widespread human
exposure to environmental contaminants. After selecting a location for an
EECIA, CDPHE must contract with an academic institution or other third
party to develop an EECIA. In developing an EECIA, the applicable
contractor must perform a scientifically rigorous analysis that includes
most of the recommendations made by the environmental justice action
task force.
Section 3 makes a technical change regarding the assessment of
civil penalties for air quality law violations.
On or after January 1, 2026, section 4 authorizes the elected
officials of a city, town, county, or city and county (local governing body)
to request that the air quality control commission (commission) impose
limits on any new or increased operational emissions of certain
health-related air pollutants that would affect individuals located in the
geographic region governed by the local governing body. To obtain
approval of such a request, the local governing body must demonstrate to
the commission's satisfaction that:
  • The geographic region over which the local governing
body has jurisdiction is cumulatively impacted by
pollution; and
  • An agency of the local government governed by the local
governing body has a process to review exemption requests
from the limits on any new or increased operational
emissions.
An approved request for limits expires after 5 years and the local
governing body must renew its request to further continue the limits. The
commission may rescind its approval of the limits if the commission
determines that the local governing body is not complying with its own
processes regarding the limits.
On or before January 1, 2025, the division of administration
(division) in CDPHE is required under section 5 to hire a petroleum
refinery regulation expert to examine whether a specific petroleum
refinery rule should be adopted by the commission and examine other
regulatory or nonregulatory measures performed.
Section 5 requires a petroleum refinery in the state to comply with
certain monitoring requirements to provide real-time emissions
monitoring data to the division.
Section 5 also requires the division to establish a rapid response
inspection team to respond quickly to air quality complaints received.
Once the team is established, the team is required to develop processes
and best practices for quickly responding to such complaints and to
engage in outreach to communities regarding events and conditions that
lead to excess air pollution emissions in communities.

Committee Reports
with Amendments
Full Text
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Fiscal Notes Fiscal Notes (07/15/2024) (most recent)  
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