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both the haze reduction goals and their desire to deliver environmental justice to long-suffering communities near Suncor.
Commissioners in November rejected, however, the environmental coalition’s demands for additional pollution cuts at Colorado power and cement plants to speed up haze improvements.
“The commission should have done more,” said Michael Hiatt, a Denver attorney for Earthjustice, which teamed up with the Sierra Club and the National Parks Conservation Association to seek a tougher regional haze plan.
But, Hiatt added, the Suncor cuts “will result in clearer skies at Rocky Mountain National Park and, also very importantly, they’re going to have equity and environmental justice co-benefi ts for the nearby communities in Commerce City and north Denver.”
Demanding that Suncor do more is “a huge step forward” in the regional haze battle, and a victory for the refi nery’s neighbors, said Tracy Coppola, senior Colorado program manager for the National Parks Conservation Association.
Suncor offi cials said Dec. 1 they support regional haze reduction efforts, and will “continue to make technological improvements to the refi nery to reduce emissions. . . We will review the Air Quality Control Commission’s fi nal decision on sulfur dioxide emissions and work with the Air Pollution Control Division on the implementation requirements,” spokeswoman Mita Adesanya said in a written statement.
Late last year, utilities rebelled when the AQCC issued a preliminary order requiring earlier-than-planned closures of three power plants, in the fi rst phase of the 10-year regional haze update. After intense objections, the AQCC reversed itself at the next month’s meeting and said it had overstepped its bounds in trying to regulate the power plants.
The environmental coalition is wary that Suncor will seek similar relief before the AQCC fi nalizes its decision about the refi nery’s pollution later this month.
The EPA’s regional haze rules are meant to protect and slowly improve sightlines at so-called “Class 1” outdoor attractions, from national parks to wilderness areas to important fi sh and wildlife areas, many of them in the West. “Regional” means states are instructed to look at all the big sources of pollutants like sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide that react in the air to create haze, on the understanding that smokestacks send plumes hundreds of miles across western open skies.
States must develop an implementation plan showing how pollutants will be cut over time in a “glide path” set out by the EPA that runs through the year 2064. The plans are allowed to incorporate expected haze reduction benefi ts from other state efforts, such as Colorado’s multiple greenhouse gas reduction laws of recent years.
State air quality commissions can also use the regional haze update to issue new pollution-cutting regulations specifi cally to speed up haze reduction if technology and environmental lobbying pushes them to move faster.
Colorado’s initial State Implementation Plan from 2011 is now due for a 10-year update. The state Air Pollution Control Division staff initially said years of work such as closing coal-fi red power plants has kept Colorado on the right glidepath for long-term reductions, and no big changes were needed for a list of 16 major pollution sources.
An environmental coalition disagreed, and proposed that the update include new restrictions on utilities, cement plants and Suncor. The coalition wanted the Air Quality Control Commission to make mandatory the dates some utilities have promised to close or convert coal plants in the next few years, and also to consider new scrubbing equipment on other polluters.
Commissioners said utility closing dates are the Public Utilities Commission’s charge, and that some of the pollution controls proposed would be more expensive than allowed by cost-effi ciency rules.
But commissioners said that for Suncor, one of the state’s top polluters, they were swayed by public testimony from neighbors saying regulators had put off equitable pollution change for too long.
“They feel very strongly their health is being compromised and that we are not fully embracing that and taking action,” Commissioner Elise Jones said during deliberations over the proposal to hasten Suncor’s pollution reductions.
Hiatt said the coalition’s proposal would cut Suncor’s sulfur dioxide emissions by 28 tons a year, about 10 tons more per year than the division staff had approved in Suncor’s plans.
After discussing the plan, the commission said it would tell Suncor to either move up its technology improvement schedule from 2029 to 2024, or employ the environmental coalition’s alternate technology proposal if they couldn’t make that deadline.
Suncor appears well on its way to installing systems to cut pollution and could speed that up, and it’s time for the commission to show neighbors they are aware of environmental justice demands and want to “do the right thing,” Commissioner Gary Arnold said.
Coppola of the National Parks Conservation Association said other southwestern states with haze problems in their national landmark areas are watching Colorado carefully as a potential leader, and will be heartened by the commission’s action.
The environmental coalition was hoping the commission would expand the environmental justice conversation to further cut pollution at cement plants in disproportionately impacted communities like Pueblo. The pollution hits local neighborhoods, and the resulting haze hurts wild places many miles away, like the Great Sand Dunes, Coppola said.
But, she added, even the more modest effort to toughen up the regional haze plan will benefi t other Front Range residents and outdoor enthusiasts.
Ongoing haze at Rocky Mountain National Park “is the poster child for being a victim of our pollution crisis that we have in Colorado,” Coppola said.
The Suncor Energy oil refi nery in Commerce City on July 18.
PHOTO BY KATHRYN SCOTT, SPECIAL TO THE COLORADO SUN
This story is from The Colorado Sun, a journalist-owned news outlet based in Denver and covering the state. For more, and to support The Colorado Sun, visit coloradosun.com. The Colorado Sun is a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy, owner of Colorado Community Media.
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Bill and Elsa Devanny stand for a photo with their
Italian ceramics.
Erik Swanson, owner and founder of The Log Candle, places a piece of wax to feed the candle’s fl ame.
PHOTOS BY CHRISTY STEADMAN The glow of the holidays
Sawyer Gilsdorf with Björn’s Colorado Honey stands inside the business’s booth at the Cherry Creek Holiday Market.
Beth York of Aurora and Brenda Luksch of Boulder are independent consultants with Usborne Books & More, which is an independent book publisher. Ryan Anderson of The House of Stewart stands with the small business’s display of candies and confections
Cherry Creek North Holiday Market connects community vendors, seasonal shoppers
BY CHRISTY STEADMAN CSTEADMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Vendors at this year’s Cherry Creek North Holiday Market are excited to have conversations with people and help shoppers fi nd the perfect gift.
“People like to support local businesses,” said Erik Swanson, owner and founder of The Log Candle. “Especially when it’s something that somebody made out of their garage.”
The Log Candle is a unique item that Swanson came about through what he called a “happy accident.” Swanson has a background in graphic design, but enjoyed dabbling in woodworking as a hobby. He set out to make a birdhouse in the late spring of 2020, and by June that year, he ended up creating his Log Candle.
Swanson later left his cubicle job and started making the Log Candles full time — selling them at the Mile High Flea Market and outdoor arts-and-crafts markets throughout the metro area.
“People seem to really enjoy them,” Swanson said. “It’s something they have never seen before.”
The Log Candle is, like it sounds, a candle made out of a small log. The logs come from local tree trimmers, Swanson said. When wax is added, it feeds the fl ame, which spreads across the top, creating the candle effect. It is meant for outdoor use, and people have enjoyed them for their patios, balconies and porches, Swanson said, adding that some people have even taken them on camping trips.
Swanson, of Englewood, is one 30 vendors at this year’s Cherry Creek North Holiday Market, and many of the 30 are local crafters/artisans or small business owners.
The market, produced by Fetch Concepts and now in its second year, opened on Nov. 18 and runs through Dec. 24. It is located on Fillmore Street between First and Second Avenues.
A family business
Madison Stewart’s sons are tending House of Stewart’s booth at the market this year.
“They like the fun atmosphere” of the holiday market, she said, “and that people like tasting the candies.”
The House of Stewart makes traditional Scottish candies. This includes caramels and the Scottish tablet, which isn’t found in the U.S., except for rare occasions such as world markets, said Stewart, owner and founder of the Denver-based business.
The House of Stewart got its start in May 2016. Stewart is an Army veteran and went to law school — the only baking she did was on the weekends for her family.
“I never imagined a career in the candy business,” Stewart said.
However, she frequently traveled back-andforth to Scotland on leisure trips and enjoyed the Scottish candies so much that she would bring back as many that she could.
“Then I decided that other Americans would probably enjoy the candies as well,” Stewart said.
Today, House of Stewart candies and confections ship across the U.S., and Stewart is looking to open a storefront in Las Vegas early 2022.
People enjoy the candies and fancy packaging, which is catered to adults, Stewart said. The candies are great for parties or gifts — “And for yourself,” Stewart said. “If you’ve had a hard day and want to treat yourself, why wait for a special occasion?”
Erik Swanson,
owner and founder of The Log Candle
