Residents urge clearer outreach on nuclear storage talks and complain county website accessibility; county staff outlines phased remediation plan

Residents at the Rio Blanco County Board of County Commissioners meeting on Jan. 20 urged the board to do more public outreach about early discussions of nuclear energy and waste storage and to restore public access to records and videos they say have been removed from the county website.

Why it matters: Several residents said the county needs to advertise meetings and technical briefings widely — not only by agenda notices — so people who do not receive email agendas can attend and ask questions. Separately, commenters and a county official debated the pace and scope of making county web content accessible under Colorado’s recent website‑accessibility statute.

What residents said

Public commenters asked the county to hold larger, clearer public meetings about talks the county has hosted with outside presenters on nuclear energy and possible storage. “Tell them exactly what it is,” said one speaker during public comment, urging the county not to abbreviate meeting descriptions and to avoid jargon. Another resident said many businesses and residents are “up in arms” about the possibility of nuclear‑waste storage in the region and asked the county to publicize meetings on social media and local outlets in addition to posting agendas.

Multiple speakers also criticized the county website’s current state, saying links and videos that used to be available are missing. One resident told the board her previous attempts to access public records had required formal records requests and fees; she said making basic documents and minutes easy to find online would reduce friction and public frustration.

County administration response

County Administrator Vicky (last name not specified) acknowledged the concerns and said the county is prioritizing website content remediation where it matters most. She said county staff and an outside vendor have been working on PDF remediation and that the county contracted a vendor to remediate its large Land and Natural Resources Plan; that document will be remediated as a first step.

“The number one thing that gets hit on the Rio Blanco County website by infinite numbers is the courthouse camera,” Vicky said, and the assessor’s pages are the next most‑viewed. She said staff have prioritized commonly used pages first, where remediation will benefit the most users, and are using a phased approach because remediation is time‑consuming and costs money. Vicky said the county is not legally required to maintain a website but is working to balance transparency with limited staff and budget.

On legal risk and enforcement

Vicky warned that Colorado’s new accessibility law sets a higher standard for government web content than historic federal ADA guidance and that courts will eventually decide whether a county’s efforts are sufficient. “The court will look if you if it gets that far, if it’s reasonable or not, and if you are being reasonable,” she said. She told commissioners the county is taking a risk‑aware approach: remediate high‑traffic, high‑value documents first (for example, the assessor pages and frequently used PDFs) and phase other content in over time.

Next steps and follow up

Vicky said the county has purchased PDF remediation software and is scheduling the remediation of major documents; she mentioned the county obtained a vendor discount for remediating the large land plan. She committed to bring further updates as staff complete work on prioritized items.

Ending

Commissioners did not take a formal vote on website policy at the Jan. 20 meeting. County staff said they will continue phased remediation of priority materials and pursue additional outreach for any future nuclear‑related public meetings so residents have notice and the technical answers they need.