The Suncor oil refinery in Commerce City, just north of Denver, operates amid a haze of violations and spills, which, over decades, have led environmentalists to call it the state’s “most notorious polluter.”
On Tuesday, Congressman Gabe Evans (R-CO), whose district includes the refinery, asked a Trump administration official to further loosen federal regulations on the facility because it must also comply with state law.
Just over two years ago, after hundreds of violations including releases of cancer-causing airborne chemicals like benzene, Suncor paid a $10.5 million penalty — the largest Colorado has ever levied against a single facility. That settlement came less than a year after it paid the federal government over $300,000 to resolve alleged violations of toxic chemical-related regulations, which were discovered during an investigation launched by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) during the first Trump administration. A 2023 report commissioned by the EPA examined a dozen similar refineries across the country and found that Suncor had the worst record of equipment malfunctions and unplanned pollution releases of all twelve.
Tuesday’s House Energy & Commerce Committee hearing of the Environment Subcommittee featured EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin discussing his agency’s budget.
Both Zeldin and Evans are dismissive of the dangers of climate change, and advocate for fewer restrictions on industry pollution, which they see as impeding the more important goal of increased oil & gas production. Their exchange reflected these positions, particularly Evans’ last request of Zeldin, on behalf of Suncor.
“Last month I was honored to welcome Chairman Guthrie, Chairman Palmer, several other members of the Energy and Commerce Committee to my district to tour Suncor,” said Evans. “They run the last two small refineries in the state of Colorado. Those two refineries provide a third of the gasoline, a third the jet fuel, half the diesel fuel in the state of Colorado. And as small refineries, they currently benefit from the small refinery exception program, which is administered through the EPA. But they are struggling under the crushing weight of state regulations in the state of Colorado.
“And so do you believe that refineries operating in states with heavy exceptional state regulations — like Colorado — should small refineries like that be considered for regulatory relief at the federal level, to protect essential energy infrastructure from shuttering?”
Zeldin didn’t answer directly, but assured Evans that the EPA would work closely with any “applicants from Colorado,” while following the law and honoring court decisions.
“While I can’t speak to an individual small refinery exemption request, it is very important for there to be full transparency following the law strictly,” said Zeldin. “There’s plenty of court cases that are going on. So honoring the decisions that are set by court and making sure that we’re working closely with those applicants, including applicants that come in from Colorado, to make sure that their requests are adjudicated fairly and factoring in certain elements that you just included in your remarks.“
Evans offered no evidence that the refinery is at risk of closing down. Suncor’s most recent gross profit report totaled just under $5.5 billion dollars.
Evans’ office did not respond to an email inquiry as to which federal regulations he would like to see waived and whether he has any concerns about the health consequences for his constituents of fewer environmental regulations on the state’s most heavily fined polluter. This article will be updated with any response received.
