News

The Colorado Energy Office (CEO) has released a Request for Applications (RFA) to solicit proposals to develop and implement eBike deployment projects. As part of the State’s Can Do Colorado Community Challenge (CDCCC), this program seeks to increase access to eBikes for low-income essential workers while maximizing air quality benefits. Additional program objectives include piloting a variety of eBike distribution models including individual ownership and shared deployment, expanding eBike access in communities across the state, and laying a foundation for future scalability and replicability.

This project is being funded in partnership between CEO, City and County of Denver, and the RAQC for a total of approximately $560,000. For more information about the RFA, including documents and program updates, click here. General comments and inquiries may be sent to ebikes@state.co.us.

The RAQC is excited to announce that its session proposal, Thriving Communities Work Together to Improve Air Quality, has been selected as part of the program for the 2021 Colorado Municipal League (CML) Annual Conference. The objective of the RAQC’s session is to educate local governments and organizations about the grant funding and resources available to them from the RAQC and the importance of collaborative partnerships in creating thriving communities with improved air quality. 

CML received a record number of submissions for conference sessions and the RAQC’s “…topic was one of the best we (CML) received.” The conference will take place June 22 – 25, 2021, in Snowmass, Colo.

The Regional Air Quality Council (RAQC) and Colorado Energy Office (CEO) have opened the Charge Ahead Colorado application for electric vehicle (EV) and charging station funding. At this time, the RAQC has funding for both charging stations and EVs for applicants within the Denver Metro Area. CEO has funding for charging stations for applicants outside the Denver Metro Area. All charging stations are required to be networked.

An application guide, informational webinar, application and other grant resources can be found on the Charge Ahead Colorado Homepage.

On December 17th and 18th the RAQC, in coordination with Air Pollution Control Division staff, proposed the Serious Area Ozone State Implementation Plan (SIP) for the Denver Metro/North Front Range, along with accompanying regulations, to the Air Quality Control Commission (AQCC). In a unanimous vote, the AQCC approved the proposed SIP which now goes before the Colorado State Legislature for review and will subsequently be submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency in Spring 2021.

The RAQC’s Simple Steps. Better Air. (SSBA) ozone outreach and education program released its 2020 year-end report. You can read the report here or by going to the SSBA program page.

The North Front Range Metropolitan Planning Organization (NFRMPO) recently included an article in their quarterly newsletter on the 2020 ozone season, written by RAQC staff. Read the article on page 3 here.

The RAQC is pleased to announce its first round of Clean Air Champions:

City of Fort Collins: The City of Fort Collins has been an active advocate for air quality for more than 25 years through supporting community based efforts to improve air quality as well as being a leader in reducing air emissions throughout their own operations. Recently the city has been focused on electrification efforts – including the electrification of commercial grade lawn and garden equipment used by the city’s parks department and continuing efforts to electrify the municipal fleet.

Regional Transportation District: RTD has been an active partner in improving air quality since its inception through its purpose to reduce single-occupancy vehicle trips and its leadership in electrifying its fleets.

The RAQC is pleased to highlight these members of our community who have demonstrated this continuous commitment to improving air quality in the Denver Metro/North Front Range region. Additional information on the awardees and their current projects are available on the Clean Air Champion program page.

The next application round will open in Spring 2021, with awardees to be recognized in Summer 2021.

In an effort to keep interested stakeholders informed of current happenings with RAQC programs, partners, and air quality news and events, the RAQC created The Air Monitor quarterly e-newsletter. You can read the most current issue here. If you are interested in subscribing to the newsletter, sign up here or contact Sara Goodwin.

To improve air quality throughout the state of Colorado, today the RAQC reopened its ALT Fuels Colorado application round to continue incentivizing the replacement and scrappage of pre-2009 vehicles with fully Electric and Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) fleet vehicles. These funds are available to all public, private, and non-profit fleets statewide within Colorado. Go to the program website for more information and to apply.

The RAQC has developed two new documents that provide information and timelines about the two federal ozone standards affecting our region, Employer-based Trip Reduction Programs and how they are one of many strategies that can reduce emissions, improve air quality and help our region attain those standards. See below for both documents.

Questions & Answers: Benefits of Employer-based Trip Reduction Programs in Our Region 

Timeline & Processes: 2008 Ozone Standard, Potential Severe Reclassification and State-Only Flexible ETRP