Boulder County regulators have terminated the controversial Cemex cement plant’s right to continue operating near Lyons, officials said in a letter to the company and a public announcement Wednesday.
County planning officials said a major increase in truck traffic at the plant is a hazard to county residents and violates terms of the Cemex nonconforming use permit, which allows the industrial plant to operate in an agricultural zone. Cemex had warned they would have to truck in far more material after the Boulder County Commissioners declined to renew a permit for an onsite cement materials mine called the Dowe Flats Quarry.
Neighbors and county activists had complained to state and local officials about the increased truck traffic and sought an investigation, and the Boulder County Community Planning and Permitting Director Dale Case apparently agreed.
“The Director has determined that the right to continue the nonconforming cement plant use has terminated as a result of an increase in truck traffic since the closing of the Dowe Flats Quarry,” the letter to Cemex said. “Specifically … the Director has determined that this increase in truck traffic constitutes an enlargement or alteration of the nonconforming use which has the effect of creating a hazard or nuisance off the property, adversely affects the character of the neighborhood,” and has other impacts.
Boulder County officials said Cemex “has 30 days to provide evidence that the director’s determination was incorrect or reduce the enlargement of the cement plant use, or appeal the determination to the Boulder County Board of County Commissioners. CEMEX will be able to operate its cement plant under current operating conditions until a final determination is made.”
Cemex on Thursday offered an e-mail response to the Boulder County move.
“Cemex is reviewing the notice issued by Boulder County’s Director of Community Planning & Permitting regarding the land use status of our Lyons Cement Plant and will respond within the next 30 days,” according to spokesperson Maryssa Silva. “Cemex will continue to operate the plant under current operating conditions, producing high-quality cement without disruption to our hard-working employees or our valued customers.
“The cement produced at the Lyons Plant by our more than 100 employees, including employees represented by the International Union of Operating Engineers, is a vital construction material for building homes, roads, hospitals, businesses, schools and other infrastructure projects that improve safety, mobility and quality of life in Boulder County and throughout Colorado,” the statement said, echoing comments from employees and some community supporters made during public hearings over Cemex permitting.
County activists were ecstatic at news of the termination letter.
“This is huge,” said Sarah Lorang, who lives near the decades-old plant and helped organize one of the groups seeking to shut it down. They have argued the plant is an anachronism in Boulder County right next to Lyons and popular open space, creating dust from cement making and traffic, and pumping large amounts of greenhouse gases into the air from its energy-intensive kiln.
“It’s time for them to move on,” Lorang said. “I hope they don’t drag this out in the courts unnecessarily.”
The plant and county officials unwittingly raised new rounds of opposition to the industrial site when Cemex proposed donating hundreds of acres to county open space in exchange for extending the mining permit.
Boulder County’s letter to Cemex said the company, a major international cement-maker, has three options: to provide evidence that the county’s traffic and other nonconforming use conclusions are wrong; to stop the enlarged uses of the property; or, file an appeal with the county commissioners.
This story was updated at 9 a.m. on April 12, 2024, with comments from Cemex.