Yesterday the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment announced to their staff that our energy field manager Nathalie Eddy will next month take a leadership role in CDPHE’s new environmental justice program as Air Quality Environmental Justice Liaison. A large part of that work will be addressing the criticism of CDPHE that Nathalie levied as the author of Colorado Loud and Clear: What public regulatory complaints reveal about Colorado’s oversight of oil and gas pollution and whom it serves and Putting the Public First: How CDPHE can overcome its legacy of prioritizing oil and gas industry interests ahead of public health, safety, welfare and the environment including:
- Adopting a public service lens when dealing with impacted communities
- Working directly with impacted community members
- Making CDPHE’s efforts more accessible to communities
Nathalie Eddy has long advocated for strengthening community relations, improving transparency, and putting people before the oil and gas industry at the state of Colorado’s health and environmental agency. Now she will have the opportunity to change the culture at CDPHE for the better from the inside.
We are proud of Nathalie and pleased to see her take her formidable talents to improve public health and fight for environmental justice for the state of Colorado. As a member of our field team, Nathalie led our efforts in Colorado and New Mexico to make visible oil and gas production’s otherwise invisible toxic and climate air pollution. Her work made it impossible for companies (and sometimes regulators) to tell residents with health complaints that “it’s all in your head” or “you’re crazy” — as impacted families across the country (not just in Colorado) have been told.
Communities in Colorado are fortunate enough to have a champion for environmental justice in CDPHE who genuinely cares about what happens to people and the future of our climate. We need more community advocates like Nathalie Eddy in positions like this in state government.
Earthworks Energy Program was launched 22 years ago in Durango as the Oil & Gas Accountability Project and will continue in Colorado through our Field Advocate and ITC certified optical gas imaging thermographer, Andrew Klooster.
We are excited to work with Nathalie in her new role. The State of Colorado is lucky to have her.
