S_HHS_2020A 01/21/2020 10:24:30 AM Committee Summary

Senator Fields called the meeting to order and reviewed the agenda (Attachment A).

Jill Hunsaker Ryan, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), distributed a handout (Attachement B) and presented on CDPHE's regulatory agenda and performance plan as required by the State Measurement for Accountable, Responsive, and Transparent Government Act.  She discussed the department's mission, vision, organizational structure, and budget related to the following divisions: Air Pollution Control Division, Division of Environmental Health and Sustainability, Hazardous Materials and Waste Management Division, and Water Quality Control Division.

(CDPHE's 2020 Regulatory Agenda, Strategic Plan 2019-2023, and Department Implementation Plan FY 2019-20 may be found on the Senate Health and Human Services Committee's webpage at  https://leg.colorado.gov/content/shhs2020asmartact-0).

Ms. Hunsaker Ryan discussed the department's Wildly Important Goal related to air quality. She explained that the department will focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and ozone levels and expanding capacity for oil and gas compliance, enforcement, permitting, and ambient air quality monitoring.  Ms. Hunsaker Ryan responded to questions.

John Putnam, CDPHE, responded to questions from the committee about air quality standards and Colorado's current compliance with federal ozone standards. Committee discussion and questions continued about air quality standards.

Ms. Hunsaker Ryan responded to questions about CDPHE's role with the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC). Mr. Putnam responded to questions.

Ms. Hunsaker Ryan continued with the presentation.  She discussed measures implemented to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the activities of the Air Quality Control Commission (AQCC) related to greenhouse gas emissions, the reduction of ground level ozone precursors, and the department's rule making activities related to the oil and gas industry.

Ms. Hunsaker Ryan discussed the CDPHE's legislative priority for additional resources for the Air Pollution Control Division (APCD) to protect the public's health from harmful emissions.  This proposal strikes the statutory cap on fees set by the division and allows the AQCC to set fees as appropriate.  The goal of the additional resources is to improve CDPHE's tools for monitoring air emissions and to better ensure ozone control planning.

Mr. Putnam responded to committee questions about the location of air emission monitoring devices and how data collected by these devices are used to inform state policies. Committee questions followed about air quality standards and policies.

Mr. Putnam respond to questions about CDPHE's environmental toxicologists and the need to have more department staff focused on environmental toxicology.

Ms. Hunsaker Ryan continued with the presentation. She discussed Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) and the emerging public health challenge resulting from the use of these chemicals in firefighting foam and other sources.

Kristy Richardson, CDPHE, responded to questions.  Ms. Hunsaker Ryan responded to questions about PFAS contamination in the Security-Widefield area.  She spoke about recent efforts to get water providers to test for PFAS.  Discussion and questions continued about water quality.

Mr. Putnam discussed the department's recent report about the use of PFAS foam by fire departments. He spoke about the difficulty of disposing of existing PFAS foam, which can only be disposed of out-of-state. Committee questions and discussion continued about the issues related to the disposal of PAFS.

Ms. Hunsaker Ryan reviewed CDPHE's other legislative priorities, including authority to establish rules related to the use of PFAS, proposed changes to the Water Quality Control Act to align with the federal Clean Water Act, county landfill enforcement authority, small and closed landfill assistance fund, and additional resources for the APCD to protect the public's health from harmful emissions. She briefly discussed the department's decision item requests and reductions requests. Mr. Putnam responded to questions.

Mark McMillan, CDPHE, discussed the Stationary Source Control Fund and distributed a handout (Attachment C). He reviewed CDPHE's implementation of House Bill 18-1400, including holding stakeholder meetings with the purpose of identifying improvements within the APCD, including air quality permitting, compliance and enforcement, billing transparency, and database improvements. He told the committee that the stakeholder process identified eight priorities for the division.