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Montezuma County declines to join state enforcement over former 49 Squares composting site
Summary
County staff told commissioners that the certificate of designation for the former 49 Squares site has been revoked and that the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) plans enforcement; county counsel and staff recommended the county not become a co‑plaintiff and the board agreed not to take the matter up further.
Montezuma County officials discussed a long-running compliance problem at a former composting facility identified in the packet as the 49 Squares site and decided not to join CDPHE in a formal enforcement action.
County staff said the county revoked the site's certificate of designation after learning the property had been sold. A county legal advisor told the board CDPHE intends to initiate an enforcement proceeding — administratively or in district court — alleging violations of the Solid Waste Act and said CDPHE wants to know whether the county wants to “get on board” with enforcement.
The county legal advisor summarized CDPHE’s position: “This needs to be cleaned up. And if it's not gonna be cleaned up, they're gonna initiate some kind of enforcement process.” The advisor said the legal framework is similar to a prior local case (referred to in the meeting as the Ironwood matter) and that “both entities can initiate this kind of legal proceeding.”
Staff and commissioners described a long history of noncompliance dating to 2009, and said CDPHE had at one point returned the site's $138,000 letter of credit to the owner. Presenters said the current owner — identified in the packet as CLM and understood to have purchased the site in about May–June 2023 — is processing remaining material on site and has not been performing testing the county considers necessary, including groundwater sampling and arsenic testing.
County staff described the on-site condition: a mixture of processed chips and a separate pile of mixed debris (concrete chunks, iron, tires, tarps and plastics), with a pond that appears to be collecting runoff. Presenters said there has been no recent fire at the site since a response in 2023 and that on‑site activity appears limited to using remaining material for landscaping or on-site reuse.
After discussion, county staff told the board they would tell CDPHE the county “isn't gonna take it up further,” meaning the county will not formally join CDPHE's enforcement action. County staff said they lack capacity to pursue a lengthy enforcement case and warned that pursuing county-led enforcement could require substantial legal resources and re‑litigation of matters going back many years.
The board did instruct staff to confirm continued on‑site use of monitoring probes the county previously provided and to keep CDPHE informed of the county’s position.
The county’s decision leaves CDPHE as the primary enforcement actor if the state proceeds; staff said CDPHE indicated it intends to move forward whether or not the county participates.
