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After an explosion in Firestone killed two people in 2017, Colorado lawmakers ordered the state agency regulating oil and gas pipelines to create new safety standards.

In June, the Public Utilities Commission issued a proposed rule on advanced leak detection and repair for natural-gas pipelines.

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Barbara Vasquez, board member of the Western Colorado Alliance for Community Action, said if the new rule is approved, future tragedies like the one in Firestone can be prevented.

"The expectation is, with this advanced leak detection and repair embedded in the rules, that the whole state will be safer," Vasquez explained.

Administrative Law Judge Robert Garvey is charged with bringing final recommendations on the new rule to the commission. Vasquez hopes Garvey will incorporate public health and climate concerns in his decision.

Pipeline leaks send harmful pollutants, including carcinogens like benzine, into the air near homes and businesses. Methane, the primary component of natural gas, is also more than 80 times more potent at trapping heat in the atmosphere than CO2.

Each year, gas pipelines in Colorado leak as much as 76,000 metric tons of methane, according to recent analysis. Oil and gas producers have largely supported regulations, many pioneered in Colorado, requiring operators to find and fix leaks.

Vasquez noted the new rule will help industry bring more of their product to market.

"It seems a no-brainer to me that they would be on board with whatever is the most effective leak detection and rapid repair, to conserve their profit margin."

Lynne Sullivan works on a ranch in Larimer County. She said over the past two decades, oil and gas production has had a profound effect on air quality, especially for anyone who works outside on hot summer days sparking ground-level ozone pollution. Sullivan believes the new rule is critical for cleaner air, and meeting Colorado’s climate goals.

"This is an incredibly exciting opportunity for the Colorado PUC to do the right thing, demonstrating how to protect people and our places from hazardous pollutants and worsening climate disasters," Sullivan contended. "These are expensive things."