Colorado’s Air Quality Enterprise will provide a total of $300,000 to support this fall’s Intermountain West Ozone Exchange Conference, co-hosted by the North Front Range Metropolitan Planning Organization and the Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments. This conference will take place Oct. 26–28, 2026, at the Pedersen Toyota Center in Loveland, Colo.
“The Air Quality Enterprise Board’s support affirms the vision behind the Ozone Exchange Conference, which is to create a forum where the latest air quality research can be shared, discussed and translated into meaningful conversations about the challenges and opportunities facing the Intermountain West,” said Andrew Gunning, executive director of the Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments. “By bringing together diverse perspectives, this unique conference will help strengthen regional understanding and support informed decisions that benefit communities across the Intermountain West region.”
The Air Quality Enterprise awarded an initial $100,000 on May 5, 2026, to support the Ozone Exchange Conference, and approved an additional $200,000 during its June 17 board meeting. The Colorado Air Quality Enterprise was created by the General Assembly in 2020 to conduct and support high-quality, independent, and trusted research and science regarding emission rates and inventories, monitoring and control technologies, and health effects and emissions impacts. The enterprise prioritizes these activities based on a project’s ability to provide information that will support tangible progress toward reducing air pollutants, attaining standards and health-based or environmental guidelines, and assessing public health.
Unlike traditional conferences that center primarily on technical presentations and expert panels, this event is being designed as a grassroots, community-driven exchange of ideas, data, and lived experience. The goal is to bring together scientists, policymakers, local governments, industry leaders, and, critically, the public to collaboratively explore data-driven strategies for addressing ozone pollution. Based on feedback and previously submitted abstracts, the conference has outlined the following schedule:
- Oct. 26: Air quality planning (legal requirements, realities and presentations from Arizona, Colorado, Nevada and Utah air quality planning agencies).
- Oct. 27: Air quality research (completed and ongoing).
- Oct. 28: Air quality public health communications and research gaps.
The deadline for abstract submission is June 30, and submissions from air quality researchers, planners, communicators, program managers and community organizations are still being solicited. Submissions can be made online, and abstract topic areas are available on the conference website.
About the North Front Range Metropolitan Planning Organization
The North Front Range Metropolitan Planning Organization is the federally designated regional planning body for transportation and air quality in Northern Colorado, representing the urbanized areas of Larimer and Weld Counties, Fort Collins, Loveland, Greeley, Evans, Windsor, Timnath, Johnstown, Berthoud, Eaton, Garden City, LaSalle, Milliken, and Severance.
About the Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments
The Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments is comprised of 16 local governments in El Paso, Park and Teller counties that collaborate on issues that cross political boundaries, with a focus on transportation planning, aging services, military land use planning, water quality management and air quality efforts. The organization also administers the Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority that provides more than $150 million in funding for the region’s transportation capital, maintenance and transit needs, and manages the non-profit Drive Smart Colorado.