By Patrick Kelly

May 2, 2016 - Members of local government, private industry and state regulatory offices gathered at Moffat County High School in Craig, Colorado on Wednesday night to discuss the climate of Northwest Colorado’s energy sector.

The discussion rotated around Clean Power Plan litigation and relevance of the coal industry to Moffat County’s economy.

Hosted by the city of Craig, the meeting gave Moffat County residents the opportunity to hear from Colorado Air Pollution Control Division Director William Allison.

As Allison stated at the meeting, his organization, as part of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, is responsible for implementing the federal Clean Power Plan at the state level.

“That takes a variety of forms,” he explained. “It can be issuing regulations, it can be developing plans to reduce air pollution for (Environmental Protection Agency) approval, it can be issuing permits to businesses….”

Allison said CDPHE started to engage in public outreach when the federal rule came out but the nature of the discussion shifted when the Supreme Court of the United States issued a stay in February.

Regardless, his organization is continuing to work with energy industry based economies and the private sector to meet potential regulations.

“From our perspective, the goals that were set for Colorado are ambitious but they are achievable,” Allison said.

The Clean Power Plan sets two options for how states evaluate emissions — rate-based and mass-based.

A rate-based plan looks at pounds of carbon dioxide produced per megawatt hour while mass-based considers overall CO2 emissions.

In 2012, Colorado produced 1,973 pounds of CO2 for every megawatt hour generated, meaning it will have to achieve a 40 percent reduction to meet the 2030 goal of 1,174 pounds per megawatt hour.

For a mass-based plan, Colorado would seek to reduce total emissions by 28 percent, reducing to 29.9 million short tons of CO2 in 2030 from 2012’s 41.7 million short tons.

Additional speakers included Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association Spokesman Lee Boughey, Colorado Mining Association Spokeswoman Diana Orf, Routt County Commissioner Doug Monger, Rio Blanco County Economic Development Coordinator Katelin Cook, Department of Local Affairs Northwestern Region Manager Elyse Ackerman and Craig Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Chris Oxley.

Colorado Air Pollution Control Division Director William Allison addresses Moffat County residents