In 2021, the Colorado General Assembly passed the Environmental Justice (EJ) Act, requiring the state’s air pollution regulators to adopt rules that cut climate pollution from the industrial sector by at least 20% reduction by 2030 (below 2015 levels). Unfortunately, the initial result was toothless regulations that cater to the needs of billion-dollar companies rather than prioritizing the immediate and desperate needs of communities around the state who suffer the impacts of toxic emissions from industrial facilities. As a result, Colorado is woefully off-track to meet its stated reduction goals, and it is clear that additional immediate action is needed from the legislature.
That is what the People Over Polluters Act, House Bill 24-1339, aims to accomplish.
The People Over Polluters Act will:
✓ Ensure industrial pollution is reduced – not increased – in the near term.
✓ Close a loophole that lets polluters pay to comply without actually reducing emissions.
✓ Protect disproportionately impacted communities from health-harming pollution through source-specific emission reductions.
✓ Add experts in environmental justice and climate science to the AQCC.
Contact your state representative TODAY and urge them to support this important legislation.