Bank smells the money, sues to collect on $34M GreenGas note

GREELEY — Livestock farmers call it “the smell of money,” also known as the odor of manure from cattle, hog and chicken operations. A California bank, however, has a different sense for the smell of money.

It has filed a lawsuit in Weld County District Court to recover $34.47 million after a company that turns manure gas into renewable natural gas defaulted on its loan.

Weld County District Court Judge Shannon Lyon issued an immediate order to preserve assets and to appoint a receiver, actions that the court said defendants could “contact the court and the bank’s counsel if they have any objections to this order.” The case was filed April 16, and the order was issued April 17.

The case is East West Bank of Santa Clara, California, versus a cluster of related companies including GreenGas Colorado LLC and Green Impact Partners U.S. Inc. GreenGas has offices in Greenwood Village, but its major RNG operation is in Weld County. East West Bank filed the action “to protect and recover collateral securing its loan,” and to enforce its loan agreements.

“The collateral is in danger of being lost, removed beyond the court’s jurisdiction, or materially injured or impaired,” the lawsuit said.

In Weld County, GreenGas has operations that use anaerobic digestion of the manure waste, traps the gases from the waste and converts them to renewable natural gas that can be marketed independently as an energy source or merged with traditional, fossil fuel sources of natural gas. Two large dairy operations in Weld have agreements with the company.

Also, in September 2024, JBS USA signed a deal with GreenGas to trap gas at its U.S. facilities and convert it to RNG. JBS designated its Grand Island, Nebraska, facility along with facilities in Utah and South Carolina to start off the new arrangement.

The parent company of GreenGas appears to be Green Impact Partners (TSXV: GIP) of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, which hosts the GreenGas website and includes GreenGas among its operational locations. Green Impact Partners touts the Weld County location along with operations in Calgary and northwest Iowa, where it is also partnering with dairy operations.
GIP plans a “Future Energy Park” in Calgary. 

But GIP’s Canadian operations have financial issues of their own. On Feb. 18, 2026, the company said that it had commenced a “court-supervised process to facilitate refinancing and strategic transactions.” The Canadian court stayed proceedings against the company to permit GIP to continue operations while it restructured. Co-founder Nikolaus Kiefer was named chief financial officer in the restructuring.

Accounting firm Ernst & Young was named as “monitor” of the company. A monitor is similar to a receiver; monitors oversee specific court orders while receivers manage a company under court oversight. GIP remains in control of its assets, under the monitor arrangement. 

In December 2025, GIP issued 1.25 million shares of common stock at $4 per share. The $5 million private placement involved stock that “certain officers sold from personal holdings,” according to a press statement on the GIP website.

The company also said it was selling its water-recycling assets.

Those actions may be why East West Bank sought immediate receivership and control of GreenGas assets.

Collateral assets now protected include rights and interest in lease agreements and leased property involving Lost Creek Dairy LLC and Prospect Ranch LLC, improvements to the Lost Creek and Prospect Ranch leased properties, rent payments, all personal property such as machinery, appliances, fixtures, and materials described in Lost Creek and Prospect Ranch deeds of trust, intangible property such as government permits, all reserves, all plans and specifications for construction, all bank deposits, all inventory, all investment property, all patents, trademarks, computer software and databases – in other words, anything of value necessary for the operation. The action noted that the collateral “is clearly inadequate security for the note.” 

The court appointed Tom Kim of R2 Advisors of Denver as receiver at a rate of $600 to $700 per hour. 

Calls and emails sent to the Calgary office of Green Impact Partners were not returned as of publication time.

The case is East West Bank v. GreenGas Colorado LLC, Green Impact Partners U.S. Inc., U.S. Infrastructure Investment Holdings LLC, and Advanced Renewables Colorado LLC. It was filed April 16, 2026, in Weld County District Court, case number 2026cv30463.

Share on Facebook on LinkedIn