Black smoke and flames were visible in the area of the Suncor Energy refinery Tuesday morning from a Denver7 city camera.
The refinery sent out a notification at 10:01 a.m. Tuesday, saying the flare — a tall smoke stack burning off excess gas at Suncor — is part of “unit startup activities.” Suncor called it an “important safety measure and environmental control tool” that allows the facility to run safely.
Suncor is the only petroleum refinery in Colorado, according to the state department of public health and environment (CDPHE). It manufactures gasoline, jet fuel, diesel fuels and asphalt.
Commerce City
Commerce City neighbors skeptical of Suncor flare project to improve air quality
While “no action is required,” according to Suncor, residents in the area can visit this website for publicly available air monitoring data. It’s a resource linked on Suncor’s website here.
A concerned neighbor reached out to Denver7 Tuesday morning, saying residents were not notified about the flare ahead of time, sending us the following picture.
While the refinery said the flare is nothing to worry about, it comes after years of the community expressing frustration over Suncor’s environmental impact and doubt surrounding the refinery’s operations…