Colorado Gets Massive Funding to Fight Air Pollution

As we have come to learn here in the Front Range, air pollution has become quite the hot button issue.

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Back in 2022, the Environmental Protection Agency labeled the area as a ‘severe’ air pollution violator.

Just recently, Fort Collins, Colorado Springs, and Denver were all listed in the Top 25 worst cities in the United States for ozone pollution according to the 2023 State of the Air report.

There have been a few attempts so far to combat it, with one being a controversial new measure that will prohibit the use of gas-powered lawn equipment for many different users starting in the summer of 2025. 

But even more recently, Colorado was awarded money to fund programs that could help limit emissions from here on out.

Colorado Given a Total of $328 Million to Fight Pollution

With Colorado’s recent status as a major air polluter taking a major hit to the state’s reputation, the federal government has stepped in to give Colorado two massive grants.

According to the Denver Post, the first grant will be going to the Colorado Energy Office, which will be getting a total of $129 million.

The second grant is going to the Denver Regional Council of Governments, who will be getting $199.7 million.

However, Colorado wasn’t the only place that was awarded grants this past week.

The EPA actually handed out a whopping $4.3 billion to states across the country on Monday.

All of this has been to try to lower the country’s carbon dioxide levels by 970 million metric tons by 2050.

What Will the Projects Be?

The two projects are completely different, but are looking to accomplish the same goal of lowering Colorado’s carbon dioxide output.

The Colorado Energy Office project will be going towards limiting the amount of emissions coming from coal mines and landfills.

The other project that’s being run by the Denver Regional Council of Governments is set to decarbonize large buildings, which make up a third of all of the United States’ carbon emissions.

For Colorado, the goal is to lower carbon dioxide emissions by 6.9 million metric tons by 2030 and 148.2 million by 2050.