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Suncor Water Quality Permits

Suncor

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) asked the public to weigh in on a permit that will limit pollution and place more conditions on Suncor oil refinery. The draft permit is a more restrictive permit than Suncor previously had. It will further protect Sand Creek and downstream waters for recreation, aquatic life, agriculture, and drinking. The permit aims to increase the transparency of Suncor’s site operations, and implement monitoring requirements and limits for dozens of toxic metals and chemicals, such as benzene and PFAS. You can access the comments received to date and the full draft permit package using the buttons below: 

 

Review public comments

Review public comments

Members of the public can view all the comments received about the proposed draft permit in this Google folder.

Recordings of informational meetings about this draft permit and the stakeholder process can be found in this public folder.

Previous public comment periods

The initial public comment period concluded on Thursday, February 17, 2022. The division opened a responsive comment period, which allowed members of the public to view and respond to the initial comments received. The responsive comment period closed on April 14, 2022. The division issued a rebuttal comment period, allowing members of the public to view and rebut the comments received during the responsive comment period. The rebuttal comment period closed on May 26, 2022.

Spanish translations and interpretation is available. Please contact cdphe.commentswqcd@state.co.us. 

Engagement timeline

The engagement timeline outlines the general timeframe of this permit renewal process and shows when we are asking for input and when we are drafting the permit. This timeline may need to be adjusted based on how many comments we receive and how long it takes to write the permit. This timeline was last updated May 2, 2023. 

  • Kickoff meetings: February 17 & 25, 2021
  • Develop draft permit: Spring 2021 through Fall 2021
  • Public comment period: November 12, 2021, through May 26, 2022
    • Public comment meetings: December 9, 2021, & January 8, 2022
    • First public comment period: November 12, 2021, through February 17, 2022
    • Responsive comment period end: April 14, 2022
    • Rebuttal comment period end: May 26, 2022
  • Develop final permit: Summer 2022 through Summer 2023
    • Request for information sent to Suncor: November 3, 2022
    • Request for information received from Suncor: February 6, 2023
  • Final permit issued (expected): Summer 2023

Resources and pollution data

The division tracks activities related to these permits.  All documents are available online at:

The division requires Suncor monitor the levels of certain toxic chemicals in their wastewater and groundwater. These chemicals are present in some firefighting foams and other sources called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). 

Suncor monitors certain pollutants in the wastewater they discharge to the creek. 

Summaries of the data:

All data (except PFAS) for the CO0001147 permit is also on EPA's ECHO site:

CDPHE reviews spills associated with an entity and we consider that data and information when renewing a water quality permit. CDPHE created a Suncor spill report summary that highlights the spills most directly-related to water quality events. This summary does not include all the spills that come from Suncor. 

To access Suncor hazardous material data and correspondence, please visit the OnBase dashboard.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) did a site inspection of the Suncor Oil Refinery from June 22 - 24, 2021, with CDPHE inspectors present. The inspection looked at the management of stormwater, water from the refinery process, and hazardous materials. To view the inspection letters, use the links below: 

You can also view the documents related to the inspection on the EPA website.