The Regional Air Quality Council's e-newsletter |
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- Welcome!
- Take some Simple Steps for Better Air
- New 501c3 Fundraising Effort
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Simple Steps. Better Air. 2023 summer season update
- RAQC Board Member Spotlight
- RAQC Staff Updates
- RAQC Air Quality Planning
- Other RAQC Programs & Initiatives
- Upcoming Events
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Welcome!
New around here? The Regional Air Quality Council (also known as “the RAQC”), is a state-adjacent nonprofit that serves the nine county area here in the Front Range of Colorado that’s out of compliance with EPA air quality standards. The main issue we currently work on through both policy and public engagement is ground-level ozone.
Colorless and odorless, ground-level ozone is different than wildfire smoke, particulate matter, or other haze that you can see or smell. This invisible pollutant even accumulates the most on hot and sunny blue-sky days, when the Colorado air appears crystal clear. Yet, ground-level ozone is the Front Range’s most pressing air quality problem, impacting our health and environment each summer!
A few times a year, we email updates about the organization. We never spam you with frequent emails, and don't sell your information. We're a nonprofit focused on helping educate the public. Since we don't send emails too frequently, there's a lot of information below!
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Take some Simple Steps for Better Air this summer!
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Second, we encourage you to just skip two car trips per week by carpooling, combining errands, and walking, taking a scooter, bike, bus, or the light rail to get where you need to go.
And remember: ride RTD for free this July and August, as part of their Zero Fare for Better Air initiative to reduce ground-level ozone in the summer months! Other public transit groups in northern Colorado and around the state are also running free fare programs this summer. |
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Announcing our new RAQC Clean Air Fund |
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Much of RAQC's funding comes from contributions by local governments or contracts to run specific programs, but often we're asked how people can contribute directly. In order to create more programs to reduce ozone in the Front Range, we need your help!
Please consider donating $10, $25, $50, or more to the RAQC's new 501c3 Clean Air Fund. Your contribution is tax deductible. Funds will go towards creating new programs that benefit our communities.
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Simple Steps. Better Air. 2023 summer season
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Simple Steps, now in Spanish!
Pasos Simples. Mejor Aire. — ahora en línea en español!
In order to better serve all of our Front Range communities, the Simple Steps. Better Air. program now has a Spanish webpage available:
For the 2023 season, ozone alerts on text and email remain available only in English.
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2023 Education and Outreach Ad Campaign |
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If you read local online or print news, or use social media, you may already have seen our ads this summer!
Part of our educational outreach is through our media partners.
This year, we're excited to be working with over two dozen media partners across the front range, with our ads appearing in about 50 publications, plus other online ads.
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Bike to Work Day
This summer's Bike to Work Day on June 28th inspired 17,981 people in the Denver Metro to skip their full car commute for the day!
What difference did it make for air quality? A pretty big one.
Besides skipping traffic, Bike to Work Day riders help save 129 lbs of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and 119 lbs of nitrogen oxides (NOx) from being emitted: the chemicals that create ground-level ozone. Riders also saved a whopping 307,000 lbs of greenhouse gases (GHGs) from being emitted into the atmosphere.
Now that's a breath of fresh air! And a reminder that skipping a couple car trips each week can make a big difference in our local air quality.
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¡Viva! Streets Denver
¡Viva! Streets Denver is a free community event series that celebrates Denver’s vibrant neighborhoods and supports local business with temporary car-free streets.
Missed us at the July event? Come join us on Sunday August 6th, at Broadway and W 9th Ave in Denver! We’ll have information and fun new swag to give away. |
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Tabling around town
On select dates this July and August, the RAQC is tabling at Civic Center EATS in Civic Center Park near downtown Denver to spread the word about ground-level ozone and the simple steps we can take for better air in the Front Range. The RAQC is also working with the Civic Center Conservancy and DRCOG's Way to Go to help hungry workers sustainably get to and from a favorite local lunchtime outing.
This year, the RAQC also sponsored the Boulder Environment, Nature, and Outdoors Film Festival (ENOFF). Attended by hundreds of area film buffs, communications coordinator Kelsey Simpkins gave a short presentation on the RAQC's work over the weekend.
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Reaching viewers on live TV |
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Thank you also to FOX31 for hosting Regional Air Quality Council executive director Mike Silverstein and our partners at RTD on Great Day Colorado on July 10, to spread the word about simple steps we can all take to reduce ground-level ozone in the Front Range.
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RAQC Board Member Highlight |
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RAQC board Vice Chair and Evans City Council member Alicia Johnson is our new Spanish Language TV star!
Thanks to our ad partnership with Telemundo this year, our Simple Steps. Better Air. outreach effort is now on Spanish-language TV as well!
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Sammy Herdman joined the RAQC in June 2023 as a Program Coordinator. Sammy is developing and managing programs to reduce ozone pollution by engaging communities and local stakeholders.
Prior to joining the RAQC, Sammy worked on forest conservation campaigns for the Natural Resources Defense Council and Environment America and directed grassroots fundraising offices in the Denver metro region to reduce plastic and ozone pollution. Sammy has a bachelor’s degree in biology and is pursuing a master’s degree in environmental policy and management from the University of Denver.
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Kelsey Simpkins joined the RAQC in May 2023 as Communications and Programs Coordinator. She manages media, public relations, and community outreach and events for the Simple Steps. Better Air. program.
Prior to joining the RAQC, Kelsey worked at the University of Colorado Boulder in media relations and as a science writer, specializing in climate and environmental science. She holds a master's degree in environmental journalism from CU Boulder.
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This past February, the RAQC welcomed a new Planning Director, Tom Moore. As the Planning Director, he will be working on air quality control strategies, coordinating development of the State Implementation Plan components, and leading emission inventory and photochemical modeling analyses.
He came to the RAQC after serving as the Technical Services Program manager at the State’s Air Pollution Control Division as well as working for many years for the Western Regional Air Partnership, coordinating air quality analysis and planning for the 15-state WRAP region.
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RAQC Air Quality Planning |
New Proposal
On July 7th, the RAQC Board approved new small engine control strategies to curb ozone contributions from lawn and garden equipment. These recommended regulations will next be forwarded to the Air Quality Control Commission for consideration.
Equipment sales and use restrictions apply to small engines like push mowers, leaf blowers (which pollute more than almost any other equipment), and the like.
Proposed regulations:
- Prohibit the sale of small gas-powered lawn and garden equipment starting in 2025.
- Government agencies will be required to stop using small engine equipment for public spaces and must use electric or other alternative options during summer months in 2025.
- Businesses (property owners, landscaping companies, private golf courses) will be required to stop using small engine equipment for public spaces and must use electric or other alternative options during summer months in 2026.
What's not included/exemptions/notes:
- This proposal is for the nine-county ozone nonattainment area only. The RAQC is not proposing statewide regulations.
- This proposal is for small engines only. Larger equipment, like ride-on mowers, are not included as electric options are not yet as readily available, but more are coming out all the time.
- Individual residents can continue to use old gas equipment until it's time to replace them. There is no ban on personal, residential use of gas mowers and small equipment, but of course individuals transitioning early helps reduce our ozone problem.
- The sales and seasonal use restrictions are not intended to apply to forest or grassland management nor do these restrictions apply to fire hazard reduction activities in or near wildland areas or the wildland urban interface.
- The seasonal use restrictions are not intended to apply to abating or preventing damage during a declared emergency.
- The sales and seasonal use restrictions are not intended to apply to equipment used by first responders to provide emergency services.
Lawn and Garden / Parks equipment has an oversized impact on our air quality and these small changes will have a big role in helping the front range meet attainment.
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Other RAQC Programs & Initiatives
Mow Down Pollution: As part of our effort to electrify small engines, the RAQC helps individuals, local governments, and businesses go electric.
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Residential: do you have a gas-powered mower, line trimmer, or leaf blower you want to swap for electric? We can help! The RAQC offers $150 vouchers for recycling of gas-powered mowers and $75 for gas-powered handheld equipment. Vouchers are good at participating Ace or Home Depot stores. Click here for more information or to apply!
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Local Governments: Thanks to special dedicated funding from the state legislature, the RAQC is helping local governments go electric as well. This year, we've awarded over $600,000 in grants to local governments with another $600,000 to go. If you work with a local government, encourage them to apply here!
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Small Business Grants: RAQC and Ace Hardware are running a pilot program to help small businesses go electric too. Commercial lawncare companies can apply for a $3,000 grant to help. We hope information gained will help RAQC run a large program starting next year. Learn more here.
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P.S. Don't forget! The RAQC's new Clean Air Fund puts money into programs that help reduce ozone and other air pollutants in our community.
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August 5, 2023 - Air Pollution Control Division Public Listening Session on Ozone Reduction. Find more information here.
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The RAQC Vision...Clean Air Provides Us The Opportunity To Breathe Easy! |
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The Regional Air Quality Council is the lead air quality planning agency for the Denver Metro/North Front Range Ozone Nonattainment Area, charged by the Governor to work with all sectors of our community and economy to better understand the air quality issues confronting the region. Our mission is to collaborate to improve air quality and protect Colorado’s health, environment, and economy through planning, policy development, and program implementation.
What is the RAQC? Answers to this question, as well as what the RAQC does and the RAQC’s priorities, can all be found in our digital overview booklet.
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