Votes at a glance: Moffat County commissioners approve letters, zoning update and cleanup contract

The Moffat County Board of County Commissioners on Sept. 23 took a series of motions and votes on letters, a zoning amendment and a hazardous‑waste cleanup contract. All motions listed below carried during the meeting.

Summary of actions - Letter to Routt County Commissioners: The board approved sending a letter admonishing Routt County for submitting an opposition letter to the state oil and gas commission (ECMC) regarding Petroleum Resource Management’s permit without consulting Moffat County. County staff said Routt County’s letter was cited as a reason the ECMC delayed permitting for two weeks. The board approved the letter and offered the opportunity to reciprocate consultation if needed.

- Unfunded mandates letter to state leadership: Commissioners approved joining several West Slope counties in a joint letter to the governor and legislative leadership describing recent statutes as unfunded mandates that create burdens for counties. The agenda materials noted Mesa County has documented over $7 million in unfunded mandates; Moffat County staff removed one law‑enforcement example after consulting the sheriff because it did not apply locally.

- Resolution 2025‑73 (zoning regulation amendment): The board approved an amendment to the Moffat County planning and zoning regulations to add “solar, utility‑scale” as a conditional use in agricultural zones (section 4.10.3, use number 25). The planning board recommended the change to avoid automatically rezoning large solar projects to heavy industrial.

- Morell (Morrill) Energy zone change and conditional use: The board approved zone change R2502 (ag to heavy industrial for the project site) and conditional use permit C2508 for the Morell Energy battery storage project. (The battery project is covered in a separate, detailed report.)

- Browns Park School and BLM letter (consent agenda): Commissioners noted that the consent agenda included a letter to the BLM State Director asking for priority on transferring the Browns Park School to a local alumni association. The county had paid about $7,000 for a federal appraisal completed in Dec. 2024 and asked federal representatives to move the transfer forward before the appraisal expires.

- Hazardous‑waste disposal contract: The board accepted a quote from Clean Management Environmental for the removal and disposal of illegally dumped automotive paint and related oil/water mixtures. The quoted amount approved was $15,672.22; county staff said the estimate could vary by 10–15 percent and that Road & Bridge earlier contained and stored the drums. Commissioners approved awarding the work to Clean Management Environmental and directed staff to pursue restitution if a responsible party is identified.

Votes and procedure Most motions passed with the board voting "Aye" during roll call. Planning staff reported planning commission recommendations where applicable (for zoning amendment and the Morell Energy applications). Several items were approved after limited discussion and with conditions incorporated into planning approvals or follow‑up steps directed to staff.

What the board asked staff to do - For the Morell Energy project: file regular updates, obtain production lease and offtake agreement copies, and require final haul‑route and county road permits prior to construction. - For the Browns Park School transfer: continue outreach to the BLM State Director and federal representatives to avoid appraisal expiration. - For the illegal dumping cleanup: pursue investigation and potential restitution if investigators can link the waste to a responsible party.

This roundup is based on the Sept. 23, 2025 Moffat County Board of County Commissioners meeting transcript and on motions adopted in regular session.