Compost

Form Object

The Colorado Department of Health and
Environment has decided to go ahead and issue a
Design and Operation plan to the Compost Express
facility on county Road #114 south of the town of
Elizabeth. While this is a disappointment to some,
the CDPHE did read and address thirteen major.
issues brought to their attention by residents and
local activists. The facility must adequately modify
their plan of operation plan or not be granted their

CDPHE Grants D&O to Compost Express

permit. The modifications will be more
costly than if they had built the facility to
state standards originally, but they still can
come into compliance. This of course does
not allow Compost Express to operate in
violation of zoning laws. The court case
between the county and Compost Express
should be ruled upon soon. More later.

Huh? Important Crap? Huh?

Sept. 16, 2007 - I have been working with Keith
Neubert on the compost pile over off of County
Road 114 for some time now. At first there was
almost no attention being paid to those citizens
who had expressed concerns for their health. The
BOCC, the Elbert County Health Department, the
Colorado State Department of Agriculture, the
Environmental Protection Agency, House District
40 Representative Debbie Stafford and the
Colorado Department of Public Health and
Environment have all been contacted and for a
long time, there seemed to little if any interest in
providing answers to the citizens who live near the
Compost Express facility.

But what has been even more surprising is that the
state has now stepped up its interest in the pile.
They are trying to schedule a meeting with Keith to
go over his concerns and they have invited six of
the most influential government experts in
Colorado to attend. It is unclear at this point who
can come attend from this side of the argument but
other than the common folk, there have been
almost no interest on the part of the county, who is
actually suing Compost Express for zoning
violations. If you have any questions you would
like answered or have the name of experts on
water and air pollution you would suggest we put
on the list of invitees (experts with spines
preferred) please contact us by email. We are
formulating a plan and will get back to you ASAP.

It was shortly after we received a response
from State Senator Brophy that the picture
began to change. In the article that follows
this one entitled "Nerve Hit!" we outlined
how out of the blue, the BOCC and
company were surprisingly interested in the
pile of crap that has made so many
residents a living hell. The county officials
promised a vigorous attempt to shut down
the operation and asked the locals for their
evidence that provided proof that the
compost maker was operating outside of
the rulebook. As often is the case with our
BOCC, there has been zero follow up and
they now are back to not answering phone
calls.

Some times you just have to be patient. Really,
really patient. This was one of those times.
Compost Express, a facility run by Paul Rohrbach
has been in operation on County Road 114 since
the spring of 2005. The unfortunate problem is that
the composting facility did not meet the zoning
requirements of Elbert County. In July of 2005,
when it became clear that they would not receive a
special use permit, the Rohrbachs declared that
they did not need a permit and deliberately ignored
the wishes of the BOCC.

Of course, our BOCC, who is known for its
lightning quick solutions issued an order to cease
operations within 30 days of the compliance order

being given to the Rohrbachs on June 29,
2006. It took our BOCC a year to act on
what had become a living nightmare for the
families living next to the illegal operation.
When that order was ignored, Elbert
County brought suit.

Today, Attorney Mark Scheffel made the
announcement to the people in attendance
at the regularly scheduled meeting of the
commissioners. Elbert County had
prevailed in their lawsuit. Compost
Express is no longer allowed to operate by
order of the court. Unless Elbert County
decides to grant Compost Express a

temporary or special use permit, they have an
injunction placed upon them by the Elbert County
District Court. It is a decision that should not have
taken this long, but it is welcome news just the
same.

I will be including a copy of the court's decision at
the end of this article and would like to
congratulate the people living adjacent to this mess
and who have had to endure the sloppy operating
practices of the Compost Express.

The Compost Pile Loses Its Steam