About Citizens for Clean Air

Learn more about the Citizens for Clean Air in Grand Junction, Colorado.

Citizens for Clean Air Board

CCA members, top row, L to R: Bennett Boeschenstein, Karen Sjoberg, Frank Nemanich; middle row, L to R: Peggy Rawlins, Jerry Nelson, Charlie Post; bottom row, Kristin Winn, Tom Phillips. Not pictured: Charles Kerr, Steve Morrall, Joel Prudhomme

Our Vision:

A Western Slope where citizens work with government agencies, non-profits, and the private sector to promote clean air.

Our Mission:

To research and reduce air pollution and promote improvement of air quality in Mesa County and the Western Slope through grassroots involvement with local, state, and federal efforts.

Who We Are:

  • CCA is an organization located in Grand Junction, Colorado. We are volunteers concerned with how air quality effects the health and welfare of residents in Grand Junction and beyond.
  • CCA was formed in January 2013 after a frigid, snowy winter in the Grand Valley creating a severe air inversion that caused lingering air pollution for several months. Karen Sjoberg gathered several concerned citizens, some of whom experienced health consequences from the pollution, to discuss what they could do as a group to raise awareness of the issue and work toward improving the air.

What We Do:

  • We collect data on air pollution to complement existing data collection efforts
  • We do research on the potential sources of air pollution in the Grand Valley
  • We work to raise awareness of air pollution issues with
    • letters to the editor and guest editorials;
    • presentations to local groups;
    • table displays at community events;
    • meetings with boards, elected officials and other community decision-makers;
    • interviews with media.
    • testimonials at public meetings where decisions are made on air quality rules and regulations, including local, state and national public hearings.
    • an annual Air Quality Public Forum, co-sponsored by the League of Women Voters
    • regular meetings to plan activities

What We Have Accomplished:

  • played an active role in the state Air Quality Control Commission’s efforts to create Colorado’s first-in-the-nation oil and gas emissions controls (2014);
  • challenged BLM’s approval of a 108 oil well proposal in Whitewater in 2014, and commented on the resulting revised proposal in 2017;
  • spearheaded the effort for the Grand Junction City Council to create a residential open burning ordinance (2016);
  • contributed inputs from a local perspective to the passing of the Clean Power Plan (2015), and the BLM Methane Waste Reduction Rule (2016);
  • organized attendees to provide testimony for a public hearing at Colorado’s neighboring Utah Department of Air Quality, which resulted in standardizing Utah’s oil and gas permitting process (2017);
  • initiated the Purple Air Quality Monitoring Project in the Grand Valley (2018);
  • began the 2019 Citizens Ozone Monitoring Initiative, made possible with funding by the Western Colorado Community Foundation and collaborations with several entities including PurpleAir, LLC. The initiative has resulted in 6 “Tri-sensors” installed across Mesa County to date. Each Tri-sensor unit includes an ozone monitor, a particulates monitor and a sensor for Volatile Organic Compounds;
  • hosted the 2019 Public Forum during which Mesa County Public Health first announced the new, Open Burning Resolution to coordinate with the 2016 City of Grand Junction Ordinance.