Colorado Regulators Considering Adopting New Rules Mandating Large Employers Adopt “Travel-Reduction” Programs
The Colorado Air Quality Division (APCD) will propose a new rule to be considered for adoption by the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission requiring employers of 100 workers or more to adopt a plan to reduce individual employee travel to the worksite. Regulators have considered requiring large metro-Denver area employers to adopt plans incentivizing employees to reduce single occupancy vehicle trips to an employer’s worksite for years. Elements of these ideas have been adopted by large metro area employers typically offering subsidized bus passes to offset outrageous downtown parking prices.
As the Denver area struggles to meet federal air quality standards, regulators have adopted increasingly tighter emission standards on business and industry but will have to look for additional reductions from other sources. Reducing vehicle miles travelled by employees to centralized workplaces may deserve consideration as transportation infrastructure such as transit is being built to accommodate an ever-changing urban landscape.
The practicality of requiring employers, including mine operators and our professional members servicing the mining industry, to meet these requirements seems unrealistic. There are several reasons why imposing a new regulatory requirement on businesses in rural Colorado seems impractical, and perhaps even unsafe, as Colorado struggles to deal with a pandemic.
The link to the Regional Air Quality’s webpage containing information about employer trip reduction concepts can be found here.
At CMA, we want to make sure member companies are aware of new rules affecting the mining industry. Please feel to contact me if you have questions about this upcoming rulemaking.
