The Boulder County commissioners denied CEMEX’s application to extend its mining of the Dowe Flats in a 2-1 vote Thursday.
Commissioners Claire Levy and Marta Loachamin voted to deny the 15 year extension to mine north of Colo. Hwy. 66 near Lyons, while Commissioner Matt Jones opposed the denial.
Open mining at Dowe Flats was originally approved for 25 years of operation and the permit is set to expire at the end of this month. CEMEX requested the county approve a 15 year extension of the mining activities.
Separate from the mining activities, CEMEX also conducts cement processing, considered a mining activity, just south of Hwy. 66 at the Lyons Quarry. That plant operates under the land use code as legal nonconforming, meaning the owner has a right to continue operating the cement plant for an indefinite time.
As part of the extension at the Dowe Flats, CEMEX offered to permanently close the Lyons Quarry cement plant within the same 15-year period. On Thursday, as CEMEX Executive Vice President of Strategic Planning Trpimir Reni made his closing remarks, the company offered to cease operations at the Dowe Flats quarry and Lyons cement plant in 12 years rather than the 15 year extension that had been on the table.
The change was not enough to convince Levy or Loachamin to approve the extension, with both emphasizing that the mining operation no longer suited the area or the county’s comprehensive plan, which aims to reduce the environmental footprint of the area.
Jones felt that the guarantee of closing the cement plant in 12 years was worth the extension, as denying the Dowe Flats quarry extension would mean the Lyons cement plant could remain in operation for an indefinite period. He added that if he could close both operations down this year, he would, but pointed out that that was not the case.
Additionally, the extension agreement offered Boulder County the chance to purchase inexpensive open space around the Dowe Flats quarry that Jones did not want to give up.
The extension was negotiated with Boulder County Parks and Open Space and Boulder County staff recommended approval based on special use permit guidelines. However, the Boulder County Planning commission recommended against the extension, citing uncertainty about impacts and a desire to reduce the extension timeframe.
During a seven hour public hearing on Sept. 14, roughly 60 community members spoke to commissioners with the vast majority opposed to the extension. The commissioners did not come to a decision at that meeting, choosing to table the topic for Thursday’s hearing, where no additional public comment was accepted.
The denial of the application means that active mining at the Dowe Flats quarry should cease at the end of this month and reclamation activities will begin.
