Residents sue Boulder County, Colorado, over proposed compost facility

Three Boulder County, Colorado, residents are suing the county in an effort to stop construction of a composting facility at the former site of Rainbow Nursery south of Longmont, reports the Boulder Daily Camera.

The residents allege that county officials are violating county policy and state tax law with the project. The suit also seeks a permanent injunction to preserve the conservation easement previously placed on the property.

Boulder County officials proposed building a compost facility on the land as part of an effort to further zero waste goals, and the facility would accept 50,000 tons of materials per year, including vegetative waste, food, animal manure and human bio-waste, according to a project memo.

The county had purchased a conservation easement for the property in 1994 and purchased the property and its water rights in 2018, using open space funds for both purchases, according to the county’s project website. However, the Daily Camera reports the lawsuit alleges the county cannot merge those estates, and by extension terminate the conservation easement, because of existing property restrictions.

The complaint asks the district court to declare that there was no merger; that the county overreached its authority by purchasing the property with the intent to build and operate a compost facility; and that the county’s actions were wrong and would “unjustly enrich” the county.

“The County plans to ask the court to dismiss this lawsuit because it is premature,” Boulder County’s Board of Commissioners said in a statement to the Daily Camera. “County staff submitted an application for a compost facility to the Community Planning and Permitting Department on October 12, 2020. Since that time, the application process has been put on hold. The court should not consider a legal challenge to a land use that has not been approved or built.”

Lisa Battan, one of the residents filing the suit, said she's concerned about the facility’s potential on water quality, air pollution and the surrounding properties.

“This kind of industrial facility that they’re proposing is very out of character for the surrounding property and is going to be very damaging to the properties surrounding the facility, including my home,” Battan said

The project team is expected to analyze the project, according to the website, and refine plans, “if warranted,” to make sure that the project is environmentally sound and within the correct scope.

The proposed facility may come before the Planning Commission and Board of County Commissioners “if and when the Boulder County Public Works Department determines that it is ready to proceed,” the update stated.