Chaffee County puts Ruby Mountain Springs bottling permit on probation, orders weed remediation and ownership review

Chaffee County commissioners voted to place the Ruby Mountain Springs bottled‑water permit on probation and ordered the permit holder to show full compliance with permit conditions, including the county weed management plan, and to clarify recent ownership changes.

The Board of County Commissioners voted to require Blue Triton Brands (the current permit holder) to demonstrate that invasive bull thistle and other noxious weeds at Bighorn Springs and Ruby Mountain Springs have been brought under control by March 1, 2026, and to provide a public clarification of the corporate ownership/transfer questions within 60 days. The action followed an annual report presentation, staff reviews and extended public comment that raised water‑export, road‑use and stewardship concerns.

Why it matters: the permit allows withdrawal of groundwater for commercial bottling at Ruby Mountain Springs and requires annual reporting, ecological mitigation, water‑augmentation and local community contributions as permit conditions. Neighbors, local conservation groups and some commissioners said the county must enforce permit conditions more strictly,…