Withdrawal of ETRP One Step Closer to Eliminating Another Burden on Northern Colorado Businesses and Employees
The Air Pollution Control Division (APCD) of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment submitted to the Air Quality Control Commission (AQCC) its withdrawal of the Employee Traffic Reduction Program (ETRP) from the rulemaking process.
The Fort Collins, Loveland and Greeley Chambers, working together as the Northern Colorado Legislative Alliance, was named a formal party in the rulemaking process, and welcomes this withdrawal as one step closer to eliminating a program that would impose burdens upon employees of businesses with 100 or more employees.
What’s Next
The NCLA is hopeful that we are at the end of the rulemaking, but will continue to follow the process as there are still several procedural steps that may require activation of the business community.
“Today’s announcement is very welcome news to the 350 large employers across Northern Colorado that would have been captured by the mandatory rule,” said Sandra Hagen Solin, working on behalf of NCLA and representative as formal party to the ETRP. “More importantly, this is welcome news to the tens of thousands of employees across the region — disproportionately impacted communities, women and essential workers — whose quality of life would have been impacted by the burden they would have borne by the requirements upon employers.”
The NCLA engaged former APCD Deputy Director Chris Colclasure, attorney with Beatty Wozniak, as regulatory legal advisor to the NCLA. The NCLA has been convening meetings and coordinating the business community response with other similarly minded formal parties to present the strongest case against the proposed mandatory employer-based program that will impose burdens upon employees of businesses with 100 or more employees.
Original ETRP Proposal
Approximately 2,600 companies across the Denver Metro Area and the North Front Range, including 350 in Larimer and Weld County, will be required to comply with pending ETRP by April of 2022. If approved, the program will mandate that these economically critical companies with more than 100 employees at a single worksite:
- Develop and implement a company-funded plan to reduce their employee’s Single Occupancy Vehicle (SOV) commuting to and from your worksite.
- Achieve a 75% SOV drive rate “goal’ by July of 2023 and 60% by 2025.
- Identify or hire an ETRP Transportation Coordinator
- Develop a baseline of the current SOV rates that will include commuting practices, vehicle type and other data
- Report periodically on progress towards and sustainability of the achievement of the goal
The APCD, according to its formal Economic Impact Analysis, estimates that, conservatively, the cost per employer to implement ETRP will range from $7,200 – $811,643 annually.
About the Northern Colorado Legislative Alliance (NCLA)
The NCLA is the joint public policy advocacy arm of the Fort Collins, Greeley and Loveland Chambers of Commerce, Upstate Colorado Economic Development Corporation and One NoCo. The NCLA is the leading voice in northern Colorado influencing local, state and federal policy on issues affecting the unique business interests of northern Colorado.
NCLA’s mission is to unite and empower the members of the northern Colorado chambers of commerce, Upstate Colorado and OneNoCo with the means to generate a strong voice for positive impact on state and federal policy, regulations, and legislation that affect business’ ability to succeed and to help create a more positive business climate for the future of northern Colorado business. Visit ncla.biz.
