Colorado Adopts Major Air Quality Fee Increases Plus Plans for Emissions Reporting Streamlining

At its May 21-22, 2026 rulemaking hearing, the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission (AQCC or “Commission”) adopted the Air Pollution Control Division’s (APCD or “Division”) proposed revisions to Regulation Number 3 and Regulation Number 7.

The adopted package substantially increases nearly every fee the Division charges stationary sources, creates a new filing fee for Emissions Reporting Notices (ERNs), and takes the first formal step toward consolidating Colorado’s overlapping emissions reporting programs. The Commission adopted the Division’s May 7, 2026 Final Rule Proposal with only limited consensus revisions; see here for all materials from the rulemaking hearing.

A Significant Step-Up in Fees

The fee increases are the centerpiece of the rulemaking and are intended to close a growing gap between the Division’s program costs and its fee revenue. Since 2019, Colorado’s air program has expanded dramatically through more than 30 pieces of legislation, and Division staffing has grown from roughly 173 Full Time Employees (FTE) in 2015 to over 400 projected by 2027. The Division estimates the adopted increases will generate approximately $13.5 to $14 million in additional annual revenue for Fiscal Year (FY) 2027. The adopted fee increases are summarized in the table and further described below.

CDPHE Adopted Fee Increases

Effective July 15, 2026, the Air Pollutant Emission Notice (APEN) filing fee increases from $363 to $675 per APEN (an 86% increase), and the permit processing fee increases from $180 to $410 per hour (a 127% increase). The hourly fee increases deserve particular attention: because construction and Title V permit costs will continue to be billed on actual Division review hours, applicants should expect total permitting costs for new projects and modifications to more than double for the same level of Division effort.

Annual emission fees have also risen sharply with this rulemaking action. For calendar year 2026 emissions, billed in FY 2027, the fee for criteria pollutants increases from $84 to $164 per ton, and the fee for hazardous air pollutants increases from $557 to $1,090 per ton (both roughly 95% increases). On the greenhouse gas side, the total annual GHG fee pool collected from reporting facilities and companies increases from $6.54 million to $7.25 million beginning in 2027, allocated among fee payers using the existing proportionality formula and the statutory 4,000-ton cap.

Finally, the rule establishes the first-ever Emissions Reporting Notice (ERN) filing fee: $270 per AIRS point for oil and gas owners and operators reporting annually under Regulation Number 7, Part B, Section V, beginning with the 2027 report covering calendar year 2026 emissions. The fee applies to equipment and activities reported via ERNs that exceed APEN applicability thresholds in Regulation 3, Part A, Section II.B.3.

Notably, the Division told the Commission these various fee increases are still inadequate to fully fund its stationary source programs, and it intends to request additional fee increases in future rulemakings. Be on the lookout for future Trinity eNews articles for additional details as they become available!

Reporting Streamlining: ERNs Begin Replacing Routine APEN Updates

Alongside the fee increases package, the Commission adopted the first phase of a multi-year effort to untangle Colorado’s duplicative emissions reporting frameworks: traditional APENs, annual toxic air contaminant and criteria pollutant reports, and the various greenhouse gas reporting programs.

The annual emissions reports already required in Regulation Number 3, Part A, Section IX.A.1.d and Regulation Number 7, Part B, Section V are now Emissions Reporting Notices (ERNs). The new rule formally defines the ERN as a category of APEN, which allows the existing annual reports to legally satisfy APEN obligations. Starting January 1, 2027, upstream and midstream oil and gas sources reporting annually through ONGAEIR will no longer need to file revised APENs solely to report a significant change in actual emissions or to renew an APEN before its five-year expiration – the annual ERN satisfies both requirements. In other words, ERNs will satisfy the requirements to submit revised APENs because of a significant change in actual emissions (see Regulation Number 3, Part A, Section II.C.1.a) or solely prior to expiration (see Regulation Number 3, Part A, Section II.C.1.e). This streamlining will begin in 2027 for the Regulation Number 7, Part B, Section V annual emissions reporters for calendar year 2026 emissions.

Revised APENs are still required for other triggers, such as ownership transfer, control equipment changes, and permit modifications. For now, this streamlining applies only to the oil and gas sector; the Division has stated it intends to propose a subsequent rulemaking to transition non-oil and gas annual reporters under Regulation 3, Part A, Section IX to the ERN format and per-point fee structure as well.

The Commission also eliminated the standalone greenhouse gas APEN requirement for sources that already report GHG emissions under Regulation Number 22, mirroring the 2024 removal for Regulation 7 oil and gas reporters. Beginning in 2027, only sources reporting under Regulation 7, Part B, Section IV will continue filing facility-wide GHG APENs, and the annual due date for these submittals moves from December 31 to June 30 annually.

What This Means for Colorado Facilities

The practical takeaways differ by sector, but every APEN-reportable source in Colorado should budget for materially higher compliance costs beginning this summer. Operators should anticipate permit processing invoices at the new $410/hour rate for work performed after July 15, 2026. Sources with sizeable criteria pollutant or HAP inventories should incorporate the near-doubling of annual emission fees into 2027 operating budgets – and verify that reported emissions reflect actual operations and current control efficiencies, since fee exposure is calculated directly from reported tons of emissions. Overstated emission estimates now carry a much higher price tag.

Oil and gas operators should prepare for the ERN transition, including the new $270 per-AIRS-point filing fee, and confirm internal tracking of which APEN revision triggers remain in effect versus those now satisfied by annual ONGAEIR reporting. Non-oil and gas sources subject to annual reporting under Regulation 3, Section IX should watch closely for the Division’s follow-on rulemaking, which will define their ERN format.

For additional information or assistance, contact Trinity’s Colorado office at 720.638.7647 to discuss how these changes affect your facilities.