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Local activists cheer for gravel pit permit lapse

Group claims the proposed gravel pit operation south and east of Lyons would damage the sensitive ecology
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Image by Capri23auto from Pixabay

Local environmental activists — waging a fight against an open-pit gravel operation west of Longmont —  are cheering an April 1 decision by the Colorado Court of Appeals which said the special use permit issued by Boulder County for the Martin Marietta Materials proposal had lapsed.

Save Our St. Vrain Valley claimed the proposed 647-acre gravel pit operation on 881 acres south and east of Lyons would damage the sensitive ecology of the area.

This month’s ruling is heartening but Martin Marietta is likely to appeal, Save Our St. Vrain Valley states on its website.

“While we are pleased with this important victory, the fight continues — Martin Marietta and/or Boulder County could see further appeals — and even if this opinion remains unchanged, the matter will return to Dale Case for further consideration of additional arguments raised by Martin Marietta,” Save Our St. Vrain Valley states.

Dale Case is the director of Boulder County’s Community Planning and Permitting Department.

Boulder County will not seek an appeal to the Colorado Supreme Court on behalf of the Boulder County Board of Adjustment nor Case, Deputy County Attorney David Huges said in an email Friday.

The Boulder County Commissioners issued a special use permit in 1998 to Western Mobile Inc., for the gravel pit operation, according to the ruling by the Court of Appeals. Western Mobile worked with Lafarge West Inc., to operate the site between 1998 through 2006 before Lafarge took over. In early December 2010, Lafarge temporarily ceased operations and in 2010, Lafarge sold interests in the mine to Martin Marietta. 

Martin Marietta never performed any gravel mining at the site and in July 2017, Save Our St. Vrain Valley argued that the approved special use permit had lapsed due to inactivity, according to the appeals court.

Martin Marietta argued that reclamation activities were part of the special use permit and Case, in 2018, ruled that the special use permit had not lapsed. The county Board of Adjustments and later the Boulder District Court backed Case, court documents stated.

The Court of Appeals said in its ruling that it is “undisputed no ‘active mining’ has occurred since at least 2006,” at the site and the special use permit covered only actual mining activity.

Save Our St. Vrain Valley states, on its website, that the agricultural open space and recreational opportunities in and around Hygiene and Lyons are cherished by many, but would be dramatically affected by the gravel pit operation, which could last until 2033.

“Residents and visitors to the area would experience potentially serious health effects; the compromised availability and quality of water; environmental issues affecting wildlife and habitat; and community impacts such as traffic congestion from trucks and trains, as well as noise and light pollution,” the group states.