A long overdue air permit for the Suncor refinery in Commerce City will be approved by the Environmental Protection Agency, bringing the facility closer to being in compliance with federal regulations.
The state will issue the permit on Sept. 1, Michael Ogletree, the state’s Air Pollution Control division director, said Thursday during a meeting with the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission. A spokesman for the EPA’s Region 8 office confirmed the approval.
The EPA in March rejected the Plant 2 application submitted by CDPHE and asked the state to reconsider its plan to monitor three sites where Suncor uses flares to burn off excess chemicals. Originally, the Air Pollution Control Division wanted to exempt those flaring sources from regular monitoring but the EPA wanted the state to do more analysis and justify its reasoning behind those exemptions.
In its revised application, the state developed specific monitoring plans for flares at the Plant 2 refinery, a truck loading dock and a railcar loading site, Richard Mylott, an EPA spokesman said.
“These plans clarify how existing monitoring at these emissions points will be used to ensure compliance with regulations,” he said.