“On July 1, 2021, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser announced that attorneys at Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP have been appointed as special assistant attorneys general to conduct an independent investigation into “allegations regarding alleged improper non-enforcement of air quality standards as alleged by certain Air Pollution Control Division staff at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.”
How It All Started
The announcement is a result of a whistleblower complaint filed by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) with the EPA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) on behalf of three employees of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s (CDPHE) Air Pollution Modeling Department (APM). The complaint alleges “permits were unlawfully issued and that a CDPHE modeler was ordered to falsify data in a modeling report to ensure that no modeled violation would be reported,” according to the request for information the Colorado AG’s office made in seeking applicants for the special investigation.”
