NOW YOU KNOW This week’s news in Boulder County and beyond

BY WILL MATUSKA

Food Pantries Get Relief

More than $4 million in emergency funding from the state’s Food Pantry Assistance Grant (FGAP) will be distributed to 245 organizations statewide, including nine in Boulder County, to support purchasing and distribution.

The influx of cash comes amid rising food insecurity in Boulder County as food banks and pantries see a record number of visitors (News, “A delicate time,” May 11, 2023). High food prices, increased cost of living and the end of pandemic-era social support programs have all contributed to growing food shortages.

Some food banks are expanding hours and shifting spending from personal care items to food in response.

Longmont Food Rescue (LFR) received a grant from FPAG. The organization typically connects community members with food donations or excess food. With the additional support, LFR can prioritize distributing high-quality proteins that are most requested and hardest to find.

Naomi Curland, executive director of LFR, says as emergency benefits end and people struggle with basic needs like paying rent and childcare, “having supplemental funds to help people who might no longer be getting SNAP benefits they were relying on is so important.”

New Study On Air Pollution From Oil And Gas

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment is looking for public input as it develops a new general permit for oil and gas facilities.

“As we look to protect the air we breathe here in Colorado, in particular in overly burdened communities, this is one of the tools that we’re developing to make sure we’re doing that,” says Michael Ogletree, director of the Air Pollution Control Division.

The permit will be informed by a sixmonth dispersion modeling study, currently in its early stages, that will measure ambient air quality and analyze how pollutants from different sources are dispersed.

The Air Pollution Control Division is hosting a public meeting on June 21 to help guide that study, and is accepting written feedback through June 30.

Both the study and general permit will apply to “upstream” facilities that treat and store oil and gas, which are considered “minor” air pollution sources by the state. The state estimates there are more than 10,000 of these facilities in Colorado.

The new permit would be a second, more comprehensive option to cover all pieces of equipment at these facilities, typically engines, heaters and flares, with one permitting action rather than the current multiple permitting structure.

Sergio Guerra, the division’s deputy director for stationary sources, says the process should take about a year, but it’s too early to finalize an exact date. There will be more opportunities for public input after the study is completed.

Ogletree says the feedback process is an effort to incorporate more proactive outreach in the early stages of rulemaking processes.

“This is some of the trust building we’re working on,” he says, “while also doing the work that we do day-to-day around protecting Coloradans from poor air pollution.”

Marshall Fire Cause

After 18 months of investigation, the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office on June 8 identified two points of origin for the Marshall Fire.

Using burn patterns, video footage and satellite imagery, investigators found two fires merged on Dec. 30, 2021. One started on a residential property (5325 Eldorado Springs Drive) owned by the Tweleve Tribes religious cultre, where a week-old legal burn reignited from high winds. The second fire came from arcing power lines, operated by Xcel Energy, south of the Marshall Mesa Trailhead.

The Marshall Fire was the most destructive fire in Colorado’s history, destroying 1,084 homes and damaging another 149.

The sheriff’s office said its “extremely thorough” investigation was assisted by the district attorney, U.S. Forest Service, Colorado Department of Mining and Reclamation Services, Colorado Bureau of Investigation and several local fire departments and other experts.

No criminal charges will be filed, but if new information comes to light, the sheriff and district attorney’s offices will review it.

Fed Dollars For Fire Relief

The town of Superior is receiving nearly $400,000 in federal funding to repair damages sustained in the Marshall Fire.

Funding from both the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the 2023 Consolidated Appropriations Act will help restore stormwater infrastructure.

“This significant federal investment in Superior’s stormwater infrastructure will bolster preparedness in the case of future disasters and improve overall infrastructure in our community,” Rep. Joe Neguse, who helped champion the two sources of funding, said in a statement to Boulder Weekly. “We will continue to fight for a healthy, thriving and more resilient Colorado.”

Brannon Richards, public works utilities director for Superior, says the fire damaged stormwater catch basins and ponds, vegetative buffers and vegetative stabilization.

“This infrastructure is critical to protecting neighborhoods, homes and the environment from stormwater run-off and pollutants that can enter our stormwater system,” Richards said in an email.