“The Boulder County Commissioners on Thursday voted 2-1 to deny a county permit extension to a cement-making company in Lyons, a move that will end its mining operations as soon as today.

• In May 2022, the Mexico-based cement manufacturer CEMEX applied for a permit extension to continue digging up limestone and shale at its Dowe Flats quarry on the north side of State Highway 66 just east of Lyons. The permit expires Sept. 30, 2022, according to county records.
• Despite losing its nearby mine, CEMEX has state air pollution permits necessary to continue making cement, the materials for which it may have to ship in by truck. The plant is among the county’s largest greenhouse gas emitters, and environmental advocates have long clamored to shut it down.
• The company had offered to cease all operations in 12 years if the county approved its permit extension. It also offered to donate the county land for open space. For this reason, Commissioner Matt Jones voted to extend the permit. But Commissioners Claire Levy and Marta Loachamin were not convinced the company would continue operating that long.
• They were also concerned about the ongoing impacts of the mining: “It’s causing a lot of dust. It’s causing a lot of noise. It’s causing a lot of truck traffic. It’s distributing wildlife in the area,” Levy said.”

Thank you to everyone who lended time/energy/effort/good thoughts/prayers/general oomph to this issue!

Next steps:

Recommendations from one of our Circle Members:

Contact the Boulder County Commissioners, as well as other local city governments like Boulder, Lyons, Longmont, Hygiene, etc. to:

• Request that the County Commissioners get intimately engaged in the current process at Colorado Dept of Public Health and Environment, Air Quality Division (CDPHE-AQCD)  that is drafting regulations about greenhouse gas emissions, and specifically will affect cement plants (three in Colorado) to reduce such emissions in next several years.   The new GHG regulations are specifically required under a recent statute passed by Colorado legislature.   
• Ask the Boulder Commissioners to specifically have the county Office of Sustainability, Climate and Resiliency (OSCAR) fully participate in that rule making process…and those staff are the most well versed in the county.   If those rules are properly/well written, the CEMEX plant will have to dramatically reduce its GHG emissions….or totally shut down.

It is critical that we all hold the CDPHE’s feet to the fire, as that state agency has not been very diligent in carrying out its responsibilities to protect public health and the environment in recent years.  

Recommendations from Sarah Lorang with Good Neighbors of Lyons:

Even before yesterday’s decision, we already began shifting our focus to the cement plant, to make sure it begins winding down as soon as possible. Save Our St. Vrain Valley’s (SOSVV) attorney issued a letter to Dale Case, the Boulder County Land Use Director, to begin a formal review of the cement plant’s legal nonconforming (“grandfathered”) status. Any past or forthcoming changes to the structure or use of the cement plant (like trucking in material, or accessory structures) should trigger a review of the nonconforming status, giving the County the power and obligation to terminate the plant’s nonconforming status and force a Special Use Review.   

We are working hard to make sure this happens (see our nonconforming matrix), but are also tackling several other legal angles as well. If you are able, please donate to our friends at SOSVV to help fund this legal fight. All donations are tax-deductible, and all money goes directly to legal and other related expenses.

While our mission isn’t yet complete, last night was a very big win and we are beaming with pride for this amazing community, and filled with optimism for what lies ahead. The Town of Lyons is going to begin renegotiating their IGA (Intergovernmental Agreement) with Boulder County regarding the land around the plant to protect its future interests in the Eastern Corridor, and should CEMEX decide to reapply for mining at Dowe Flats, we have done our work to ensure both the Town of Lyons will be at the negotiating table, and also that an environmental impact study must be completed with the application so we can actually discuss what impact more mining may have. As Commissioner Levy so astutely pointed out last night when talking about the ‘intensive use’ of CEMEX’s permit application, ‘there is nothing more intensive than basically destroying the land.’ 

Thank you for your time, support, and energy invested in this very important cause. You have played an important role in the first step of eliminating 30,000 lifetimes of CO2 from our atmosphere. This is the epitome of thinking globally and acting locally, and you should feel incredibly proud because you made a difference. A big difference.

If you would like to continue receiving updates on CEMEX, please subscribe to our mailing list at goodneighborslyons.com if you haven’t already. 

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