DENVER (KDVR) — State agencies in Colorado will be banned from using certain gas-powered lawn equipment during the summer, according to a new rule adopted by the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission.
The rule applies from June to August. During this time, state agencies will not be allowed to use gas-powered lawn equipment with engines of 25 horsepower or less.
The new regulation also prohibits the use of gas-powered push lawnmowers and other lawn equipment under 10 horsepower on other public property within the Denver Metro and the nine-county North Front Range ozone nonattainment area.
This area includes the Denver metro, as well as areas north of it through Larimer and Weld counties. This new rule is also in effect from June through August, and does not impact homeowners on their own property.
The nonprofit CoPIRG Foundation released a report that found gas-powered lawnmowers and other lawn equipment generated an estimated 671 tons of fine particulate pollution in 2020.
This was equivalent to the pollution created by more than 7 million cars, according to the report.
CoPIRG also said lawn equipment contributes an estimated 9,811 tons of ozone-forming volatile organic compounds, along with 1,969 tons of nitrogen oxides every year.
The regulation will not go into effect until 2025.
Over the summer, the Regional Air Quality Council voted to ban the sale of small gas-powered lawn tools in select Colorado counties to improve air quality. This proposal was rejected by the state's Air Quality Control Commission.