Grand County renews Peak Materials special-use permit after resident complaints about odors

The Grand County Board of County Commissioners on March 4 approved a five-year renewal of a special-use permit for Kilgore Companies LLC, which operates PEAK Materials, to continue gravel and asphalt operations off County Road 5.

Community Development staff, public-health officials and the company described a monitoring program and technical reviews prepared after neighbor complaints about odors and visible emissions. Staff recommended renewal with conditions, including a requirement for the operator to remove two decommissioned silos and related old plant equipment by June 6, 2025, and for the company to provide an updated lease that expires Oct. 30, 2026, or the permit will lapse.

The planning staff, represented at the hearing by Chris Manduso of the Community Development Department, said the operation has a long local history and that public-health inspections and portable monitors installed Augustthrough October recorded particulate and carbon monoxide readings ‘‘well below applicable EPA standards.’’ Jason Bodacammer of Grand County Public Health summarized canister (grab-sample) results that identified trace volatile organic compounds (VOCs) where benzene levels produced the largest modeled incremental cancer risk among compounds detected, but the public-health analysis did not link those levels conclusively to plant operations and found ambient readings comparable to other Colorado counties.

Residents called into the hearing and several spoke in the room, citing recurring odors, requests for screening or berming of the site and concerns about visual impacts. Sherry Swanberg, who lives in the area, said the odor persisted into valley locations such as community ball fields and urged the company to pursue odor-control measures that go beyond masking additives.

Peak Materials representatives described operational changes and at-site monitoring, including continuous pH/opacity sensors and on-site VOC instruments, and said plant process upsets had been rare. The company said much of the VOC signal the county lab measured appeared to represent background compounds that can come from many sources, not only asphalt operations.

Commissioners pressed for clarity on monitoring and public access to results. After discussion, the board approved the renewal. During the hearing commissioners directed staff to ensure periodic coordination between the operator and Grand County Public Health, to make monitoring and sampling results accessible to the public, and to pursue a site visit after the old silos are removed to identify practicable, low-water landscaping or berming to reduce visual impacts.

Votes and formal conditions: the commission approved the five-year renewal as recommended by staff, with the following enforceable items incorporated or clarified in the record: removal of the old asphalt plant structures by June 6, 2025 (failure to comply will trigger enforcement), the requirement that an updated lease for the property be on file by Oct. 1, 2026 (failure will allow the county to terminate the permit on Oct. 31, 2026), and ongoing coordination between the operator and Grand County Public Health on ambient monitoring and reporting. Staff will return with a monitoring-publication plan and an accounting of monthly/quarterly canister sampling results.

Why it matters: the operation sits adjacent to growing residential areas along County Road 5; neighbors reported odors and visual impacts. The county combined technical monitoring with the public hearing process before approving the permit renewal. The decision couples continuing operations with enforceable removal deadlines and improved transparency about monitoring data.

Looking ahead: county staff said they will post public-health monitoring data and work with the operator on feasible screening/earthwork after the old plant equipment is removed.