Item 11f on the contract renewal for the Air Quality Monitoring (AQM) Program was removed from today’s Broomfield City Council agenda and will be heard later under the new Council. The new Council will be installed on Nov. 19 and the annual AQM contract expires on Dec. 31.
In response to many health impacts like nosebleeds, nausea and headaches reported by residents living near the Extraction pads under development, the City and County of Broomfield (CCOB) asked contractors Ajax and Colorado State University (CSU) to enhance their current AQM to better detect the causes of the health impacts. The proposed enhancements focused on usage of Apis sensors with increased capabilities and trigger canisters, more frequent sensor reporting and a better public portal. It would have required additional funding, with the new cost for 4 years beginning in 2020 at around $3 million. You can read the entire proposal here.
Some residents researched the new sensors and process of using the trigger canisters and began contacting CCOB to question if the proposed system would be adequate for detection of levels of chemicals causing reported health impacts. On November 11, Broomfield Health and Safety First Co-Chair Neil Allaire submitted a letter to Council detailing many of these technical and procedural questions. You can read the entire letter here.
If your health is impacted by oil and gas development in Broomfield, you can report it to CCOB here.