Actions against Suncor to enforce air quality requirements

Overview

This web page provides documentation on how CDPHE enforces air quality laws and regulations that apply to the Suncor refinery in Commerce City. Additional information on air monitoring, permitting, community notifications, and more can be found on CDPHE’s air quality and the Suncor refinery web page.

The CDPHE Air Pollution Control Division must use the enforcement process established by state statute to require a facility like Suncor to make changes to address air quality violations. State statute 25-7-115 C.R.S. provides the division’s enforcement authority.

Enforcing air quality laws and regulations is a legal process. The length of time needed to resolve an enforcement action varies depending on the complexity of the case.

The division typically initiates formal enforcement actions by issuing a Compliance Advisory. This document formally puts a company on notice regarding the division’s findings of alleged violations. Through enforcement actions, the division investigates alleged violations and works to address confirmed violations. The division normally completes these actions through an enforcement package. The division’s Compliance Assistance and Enforcement Guide offers more details on the typical enforcement process.

Below are links to documents from the division’s recent enforcement packages and active investigations against Suncor.

Active investigations

This section lists documents associated with the division’s active investigations into any alleged air quality violations at Suncor. The documents are usually a Compliance Advisory or a Notice of Violation. If the division issues one of these documents to Suncor, that is the first step in an enforcement action to investigate alleged air quality violations. The division removes documents from this section when the enforcement action is complete.

July 2, 2024 EPA and CDPHE joint Notice of Violation:

• Covers federal and state inspections from 2020-2023.
• Incorporates the CDPHE Air Pollution Control Division’s June 1, 2023 Compliance Advisory.

June 1, 2023 Compliance Advisory:

• English explanation of the June 1 Compliance Advisory.
• Spanish explanation of the June 1 Compliance Advisory.
• Case number: 2023-082.

Enforcement packages

This section lists documents associated with enforcement packages the division has finalized with Suncor since 2014. Enforcement packages can include penalties or other requirements to address air quality violations in a legal document, such as a Compliance Order on Consent.

Feb. 5, 2024 Compliance Order on Consent:

• Covers 2020 and 2021 inspection findings.
• Case numbers: 2021-082 and 2022-076.

March 6, 2020 Compliance Order on Consent:

• Covers 2018 and 2019 inspection findings.
• Case numbers: 2019-097 and 2019-194.

June 24, 2019 Compliance Order on Consent:

• Covers 2017 inspection findings. 
• Case number: 2018-100.

April 19, 2018 Compliance Order on Consent:

• Covers 2016 inspection findings.
• Case number: 2017-092.

Jan. 9, 2017 Compliance Order on Consent:

• Covers 2015 inspection findings.
• Case number: 2016-119.

Aug. 26, 2015 Compliance Order on Consent:

• Covers 2013 and 2014 inspection findings.
• Case numbers: 2014-122/123.

Oct. 13, 2015 Multimedia Settlement Agreement and Compliance Order on Consent. 

• This addresses enforcement actions from all of the department’s environmental divisions, including the Air Pollution Control Division, Water Quality Control Division and Hazardous Materials and Waste Management Division as a result of a release to Sand Creek in 2011.