Boulder County proposes new compost facility off Hwy. 287

In 2018, the EPA reported the total generation of municipal solid waste (MSW) in the United States was 292.4 million tons or 4.9 pounds per person per day. Of the total MSW, 25 million tons were composted. This included approximately 22.3 million tons of yard trimmings and 2.6 million tons of food waste across the United States.

At a local level, Boulder County estimates that almost 20% of the waste stream in Boulder County is plant trimmings and fruit and vegetable scraps that could be recycled as compost.

As part of Boulder County’s ongoing goal of Zero Waste or Darn Near by 2025, in October 2020, Boulder County submitted preliminary designs for a new County-operated compost facility to the county’s Community Planning and Permitting Department through a Special Use Review Application for review and comment. The project website states this facility would aim to capture 20% to 30% of compostable county waste and increase landfill diversion by 5% to 10%.

The location for this proposed countywide composting facility is 40 acres of the old Rainbow Nursery, located on the east side of US Hwy. 287 just south of Hwy. 52. Currently, compost collected in Boulder County is being trucked 50 miles east to the A1 Organics compost facility in Keenesburg.

Instead of continuing to truck compostables, Boulder County has submitted a proposal to build a new composting facility for the collection of Type 3 feedstocks, including vegetative waste, animal manure, source-separated organics, food residuals, food processing vegetative waste, and biosolids, as approved for receipt by Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE). Clean material, free of physical contamination, would also be accepted from within the region.

The proposal advocates the use of a CASP system of compost management or covered aerated static piles. In this system, feedstock is covered in a concrete bunker system designed to contain leachate and minimize odors.

As part of the proposal, the county has also outlined a two-plus acre paved area for wood processing, specifically designed to process the county’s ash trees that have been infected by the Emerald Ash Borer. The finished compost products would be available for residential purchase and also available for distribution back to local farms for ongoing agricultural use.

Funding for the design and construction of this proposal has been provided by the Sustainability Tax, which was approved by 70% of Boulder County voters in 2016.

The proposed Rainbow Nursery site was one of three sites originally surveyed in 2019 as part of an initial compost site analysis and comparison study conducted by Resource Recycling Systems (RSS) a Michigan-based consultancy. The report on the Rainbow Nursery location cites “citizens concerns” as one of the potential cons of the site, which has proven to be the case.

A recently formed non-profit organization, called Open Space Protection Alliance, has outlined several concerns about Boulder County’s proposed compost facility.

The group’s first concern centers on Boulder County’s proposed location. The property, which was previously Rainbow Nursery, was purchased by Boulder County in 2018 for $985,000. The land was previously designated as an area of agricultural significance, and Boulder County paid $169,625 in 1994 to purchase a conservation easement on the property.

As a result of this easement, when the land was put up for sale in 2018, Boulder County was given the first right of refusal and ended up purchasing the property. Per Boulder County, as a result of the fee title acquisition, the conservation easement interest merged with fee title, which means the easement no longer exists on the property.

If the County’s Special Use Review Application is approved, the land will be transferred to the Public Works Department, and the money used to purchase the property will be repaid to the Open Space fund. The county’s initial Rainbow Nursery Acquisition Documents, dated April 6, 2018, include a written proposal for the possible use of the land for the zero-waste initiative in the sale summary.

The Open Space Protection Alliance has expressed concern about this open space re-designation and proposed use violating the right of taxpayers to know that open space parcels and conservation easements will be protected in perpetuity. The group also points out that this redesignation may set a precedent for other entities who wish to re-designate open space land for uses inconsistent with taxpayer-funded open space management.

Increased traffic on Highway 287, specifically large, industrial truck traffic, is another area of concern as the proposal estimates an additional 50 trucks entering and exiting the compost facility per day, on an already busy and potentially dangerous stretch of road.

A traffic study, conducted by Fox Tuttle Transportation Group, determined that the existing roadway system should be able to adequately accommodate this increased volume and does not require any additional infrastructure. The proposal recommends adjusting the timing of the traffic signals on Hwy. 287 at Hwy. 52 and Lookout Road, but does not advocate building a new traffic signal on Hwy. 287. Any final plans will need to be reviewed and approved by the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT).

Risks of pollution are another top concern for the non-profit group, neighbors, and residents. Boulder County does outline its proposed solutions to these risks in its FAQ document.

The Open Space Protection Alliance website cites a lack of transparency as one of the complaints in how the County has handled revealing this proposal as well as the perceived speed at which the proposal is moving forward.

On Nov. 24, the Open Space Alliance announced that it had notified Boulder County of its intent to file a lawsuit to challenge the county’s proposal. Lisa Battan, an attorney who is described as plaintiff and co-founder of the Open Space Alliance, said in a news release, “It is offensive for Boulder County – which is at once the land-owner, developer, applicant, reviewer, and future operator of this highly controversial project – to deny the community their lawful right to review the details of this project and to understand its far reaching and long lasting impact on the community.”

Battan owns a 13-acre site just south of the Rainbow Nursery property. Karl Kumli, attorney for the group, stated in a news release, “We have asked Boulder County for publicly available information on this matter in order to determine our next steps. However, the County is delaying delivery of any information sought by our Open Records Act requests.”

Neighbors' additional concerns center on the possibility of air and odor pollution due to prevailing winds on the Front Range, which could negatively impact downwind farms, neighbors, schools, and cities. Water pollution is another concern, as certain byproducts of composting must be appropriately contained and regulated. Noise pollution from the proposed wood chipping facility is an additional concern. And finally, there is the concern about the introduction of microplastics to finished compost products, a problem which has increasingly become an issue for composters around the nation.

Former local government attorney and OSPA member, Jeffrey Davis said in a press release, “Boulder County’s plan to accept 60,500 tons of animal manure, rotting food and human sewage biosolids is an industrial-scale commercial operation on lands that were purchased with Sales Tax money for Open Space. This is wrong and poses serious contamination threats to groundwater, onsite wetlands, and the adjacent Leggett Ditch. Under the feel-good banner of Zero-Waste, the County is proposing to clear-cut a forested conservation easement and transform Open Space into a toxic source of life-altering air and odor pollutants just two miles upwind from downtown Erie.”

On its website, Boulder County has posted documentation, project documents, a FAQ, and a way to sign up for email updates. The county will be posting dates for public hearings and reviews. At this time, people can also submit questions or comments through the online questions/comment form which is open until Dec. 11.

The specific timeline for the project is yet to be determined and hinges on Boulder County receiving approval for the Special Use Review Application. As of now, the county outlines a review of the plans by the County Planning Commission and Board of County Commissioners in early 2021, and public meetings with opportunities for comment in 2021.

Construction would be anticipated to begin in winter 2021. Dates, times, and locations for all public hearings and meetings will be provided on the Boulder County project page as soon as they are set.

Currently, Boulder County estimates the facility will cost taxpayers in the range of $7 million. As part of the process, the proposal will need to pass CDOT and CDPHE review as well as go through a final public review period.

Concerned citizens have posed the question as to whether Boulder County has the knowledge and resources to successfully run a compost facility of this size. The technology and size of the facility would make it the first of its kind in the state of Colorado, a potential opportunity with an as-yet-unknown outcome.

For residents interested in staying apprised of new developments, both the Protect Rainbow Open Space website of the Open Space Protection Alliance, and the Boulder County website offer the opportunity to sign up for email notifications on important news and updates.