On July 21st, the Colorado Air Pollution Control Division (APCD) formally withdrew Regulation 22, containing the Employee Trip Reduction Program (ETRP), to the state’s Air Quality Control Commission (AQCC). However, the AQCC is still required to vote before the proposal can be formally dismissed. The vote will take place on August 18th and 19th during the AQCC’s next scheduled meeting.

The APCD withdrawal of the ETRP came days after the ETRP was changed to voluntary status, largely due to opposition from a business coalition that includes FWEDA and is spearheaded by the Colorado Chamber of Commerce.

Regulation 22 sought to report Green House Gas (GHS) emissions and was developed after the passage of HB19-1261. The bill set new goals for decreasing GHG emissions in 2025 by at least 26 percent, 50 percent by 2030, and 90 percent by 2050 compared to GHS emissions in 2005.

The ETRP target was to reduce GHG emissions produced by Single-Occupancy Vehicle (SOV) commuter trips. The program targeted the greater Denver Metropolitan (the counties of Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Douglas, Jefferson, the cities and counties of Denver and Broomfield, and parts of Larimer and Weld County). This area was reclassified as Serious Ozone Nonattainment Area under the Clean Air Act and as such is a focal point to improve Colorado’s air quality.

While the coalition recognizes the issues of air pollution in the region, it does not support the proposed ETRP due to multiple concerns including equity, failure to account for essential and onsite workers, lack of rationale regarding certain policy decisions, and the use of flawed analyses. FWEDA and the coalition support the APCD’s to decision to withdraw Regulation 22 from the rulemaking process and will continue to work toward a better solution for air quality in Colorado.

“This development is welcome news for both businesses and the Coloradans they employ,” said Katie Wolf, Director of State Governmental Affairs for the Colorado Chamber. “The original ETRP proposal raised serious concerns about feasibility and overreach, especially as we look towards an economic recovery following the pandemic. It also would have unfairly disadvantaged hardworking Coloradans with unique commuting needs, from working moms to essential workers. We look forward to working with the commission to find balanced, practical solutions to improving our air without having a detrimental impact on employees and businesses.”

While the draft framework produced by the Regional Air Quality Council (RAQC) only applied the ETRP to businesses with over 250 employees per worksite, the AQCC’s proposal reduced the employee requirement to 100. The plan would have had businesses assign an Employee Transportation Coordinator by January 1, 2022. By July 1, 2022, businesses would have to implement an ETRP to reach a 75 percent SOV rate within the following 12 months. Another ETRP would have to be developed and implemented starting July 1, 2024, to reach a 60 percent SOV rate in the following 12 months. Additionally, beginning on July 1, 2022, and continuing annually, the business would complete and submit an employee commuting survey.

To reach these goals, the ETRP set measures that businesses could take to fulfill the requirements. The program suggested implementing Flexwork policies including allowing certain employees to intermittently work part or full-time from home. Changing parking situations by reducing or eliminating parking charges for zero-emission vehicles (ZEV) and ridesharing vehicles or alternatively increasing the cost to non-ZEV SOV vehicles. Implementing an employee bus, facilitating ridesharing matches, adding bicycle parking, installing charging locations for ZEVs, or providing subsidies for public transportation fairs were other suggest methods.