Real Estate & Construction  September 25, 2018

Controversial Weld County asphalt plant plans to start operations next month

GREELEY After a years-long legal dispute and an unorthodox work-around, an asphalt plant near the intersection of Weld County Road 13 and U.S. Highway 34 is set to open in October.

The roughly $60-million project was completed earlier this year by Martin Marietta Materials Inc. But the start of operations at the 133-acre site stalled due to opposition from residents and business owners who raised concerns about the neighborhood compatibility of the plant.

Those concerns led to a 2015 lawsuit aimed at rolling back the project.

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The Weld District Court initially ruled in favor of the county and Martin Marietta in January 2017, but that ruling was overturned by the Colorado Court of Appeals in November 2017.  

After that ruling, a neighborhood group filed a motion in an attempt to force the plant to be dismantled and the property returned to farmland.

Weld County District Court Judge Todd Taylor ruled in June to return the case to the Weld County Board of County Commissioners, who first approved the project by a 5-0 vote in 2013.

Sidestepping legal and regulator speedbumps, Martin Marietta announced Tuesday that it has handed ownership of the plant over to Rock & Rail LLC. That entity, a federally licensed railroad company, was acquired by Martin Marietta in 2015.

In a letter to Weld County government officials, attorneys representing the company argue that because the plant is now owned by a railroad, operations are permitted under federal law. Statutes governing railroad operations — in this case, the Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act of 1995 — supercede county regulations, according to the letter.

“As matters now stand, Rock & Rail’s predecessor MMM has been seeking a County permit for the Hwy. 34 facility for more than three years,” according to the letter. “No end to that process, or the litigation spawned by it, is in sight. Rock & Rail has therefore elected to exercise its right to commence operations at the Hwy. 34 facility, as it is authorized to do under (the Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act).”

The letter continued: “A long line of cases establishes that state and local zoning or land use provisions may not be used to require a railroad to obtain prior permission before undertaking an action that involves the construction, permitting, or operation of a rail yard and related facilities, including an intermodal facility.”

Reached by phone Tuesday afternoon, Weld County Attorney Bruce Barker declined to comment on Martin Marietta’s plan to commence operations at the plant. Barker said he hadn’t had an opportunity to fully analyze the legal issues raised by the attorneys’ letter.

Rock & Rail expects to begin operations at the facility this month, initially bringing in one train of construction aggregate per week and expanding to three per week in the construction season, according to a news release that accompanied the letter.

In a prepared statement, the plant’s general manager AJ Arjanen touted the future benefits of the plant.

“Rock & Rail will operate a facility that benefits the county and surrounding communities as an employer and source of needed construction material, while minimizing impacts to county roads, commuters and neighbors,” he said.

GREELEY After a years-long legal dispute and an unorthodox work-around, an asphalt plant near the intersection of Weld County Road 13 and U.S. Highway 34 is set to open in October.

The roughly $60-million project was completed earlier this year by Martin Marietta Materials Inc. But the start of operations at the 133-acre site stalled due to opposition from residents and business owners who raised concerns about the neighborhood compatibility of the plant.

Those concerns led to a 2015 lawsuit aimed…

Christopher Wood
Christopher Wood is editor and publisher of BizWest, a regional business journal covering Boulder, Broomfield, Larimer and Weld counties. Wood co-founded the Northern Colorado Business Report in 1995 and served as publisher of the Boulder County Business Report until the two publications were merged to form BizWest in 2014. From 1990 to 1995, Wood served as reporter and managing editor of the Denver Business Journal. He is a Marine Corps veteran and a graduate of the University of Colorado Boulder. He has won numerous awards from the Colorado Press Association, Society of Professional Journalists and the Alliance of Area Business Publishers.
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