Odors are regulated in the City and County of Denver, and the entire State of Colorado, as a nuisance issue, as opposed to a health issue. One of the difficulties faced by this and other environmental health departments is that odors, like other pollutants, do not abide by jurisdictional boundaries. Denver citizens are impacted by many sources of odors that are located outside of the City and County of Denver.

How the Ordinance Works
In order for an odor to be in violation of the nuisance provision of Denver’s Air Pollution Ordinance, the following conditions must be met:

• The source of the odor must be located within the City and County of Denver.
• The odor must be detected off of the source property by an inspector for a period exceeding 30 minutes.
• Several complaints must be received regarding the same odor incident, and complainants must be willing to testify in court that the odor interferes with the reasonable and comfortable use and enjoyment of property.
• The number of complaints deemed necessary to proceed with enforcement will be determined on a case-by-case basis, depending upon the size of the facility, size/population density of the area of impact, and other facts specific to the odorous emissions.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment regulates odors under Colorado Air Quality Control Commission’s Regulation 2

How to Report An Odor Complaint
Call the Environmental Protection Division (720) 865-5452 with the following information:

• The date and time the odor is/was detected and the duration of the odor
• The location that the odor was detected
• A description of the odor
• Suspected source of the odor, if possible
• Wind direction, if possible
• Your name and phone number. The Denver Ordinance cannot be enforced based upon an anonymous complaint.