Colorado air quality monitoring expands with EPA support

NORTHGLENN, Colo. — A lot of people move to Colorado because they think the state has great air quality. But they soon learn about air quality alerts. That was the message KC Becker, who works with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as an administrator for the region including Colorado, had on Wednesday.

For decades, Colorado has tried to reduce its high levels of air pollution, including severe ozone and the infamous “brown cloud” hanging over Denver.

Now, the EPA is partnering with several counties on the Front Range to expand air quality monitoring in the hopes more information can help guide Coloradans on when it’s safe to spend time outside, and inform lawmakers on how to improve the air we breathe.

“It’s invisible, oftentimes, but that doesn’t mean it’s not there,” Becker said.

New air quality monitors are “just one way that the EPA, with the state and with local governments, are really trying to keep track of that, and do the best we can to address it,” she said.

The EPA recently selected Adams and Jefferson counties to receive federal grants totaling more than $625,000 through the Inflation Reduction Act and American Rescue Plan.

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