Colorado
Colorado landfill emission rules could force mountain counties to hike trash fees. Lawmakers are seeking a solution.
Local officials in Colorado’s mountain counties are warning that new state emission regulations for landfills could force them to raise residents’ trash collection fees.
The rules, which were passed last year by the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission, require public and private landfills that meet certain thresholds for methane emissions to install new pollutant control and monitoring systems, end open flare burning of methane and be equipped with biofilters.
Those rules go into effect in 2029, but certain landfills have up to three years after that to install the emission capture and monitoring technology.
Rural counties with publicly-owned landfills say the measure, while well-intentioned, will be expensive to implement, and could force officials to hike trash collection, commonly called tipping fees, to help cover the costs.
“Several of these counties would be looking at many millions of dollars to buy this equipment in order to be compliant,” said Kelly Flenniken, executive director for Colorado Counties, Inc., which represents all 64 of the state’s counties. “While compliance is something we do want to do, we are really struggling with how we best do that and how we balance that requirement with all of the rest of the requirements that counties have to deliver.”
In Garfield County, officials estimated last year that the regulations could cost $2 million to $2.5 million in upfront costs, with upwards of $100,000 in annual operating costs, though they will now need to reexamine the cost impacts since the rules have been finalized. The county’s landfill director, Deb Fiscus, said in an email that those costs will mean an increase in tipping fees, though the county doesn’t yet know how much.
The same could be true in Pitkin County, home to Aspen, where infrastructure costs could be around $3.5 million, with an additional $200,000 to $400,000 in yearly operating expenses, and Summit County, where officials are projecting $3 million in upfront costs, with an additional $200,000 to $500,000 each year for compliance.
Summit County Commissioner Tamara Pogue said the county’s landfill is already operating at a roughly $3 million deficit, and officials are now looking to borrow money from one of its enterprise funds to help cover the landfill’s costs.
Pogue said even without the new state regulations, “We have been concerned that we will already have to do a tipping fee increase.”
“As someone who has worked so hard in every way possible to try and create some fiscal relief for Summit County residents, and believes deeply that affordability is incredibly difficult for so many Summit County residents, that is not something that I feel comfortable doing,” she said.
Bill seeks to help with counties’ costs
State lawmakers are racing to pass a funding solution this legislative session.
Senate Bill 101 would allow landfill owners to tap money in the state’s community impact cash fund to help pay for new methane capture and monitoring infrastructure. The cash fund, created by lawmakers in 2022, is generated by fines on air polluters and primarily goes toward environmental projects in communities affected by air pollution. The bill would prioritize publicly-owned landfills for the dollars over private ones.
The bipartisan measure is sponsored by Sens. Byron Pelton, R-Sterling, and Dylan Roberts, D-Frisco, as well as Rep. Chris Richardson, R-Elbert County. It passed the Senate unanimously on April 20 and is now being considered in the House.
“I think we have a responsibility as a state to control methane and keep our air clean and do what we can to combat climate change,” Roberts said during the bill’s first committee hearing on April 13. “But the reality on the ground is that counties have to grapple with the costs of that.”
The bill represents a heavily watered-down version of its original self. Initially, the legislation included a provision requiring the Air Quality Control Commission to create a waiver process for operators to request more time for compliance. It also would have shielded operators from penalties for noncompliance if they could show that the reason was purely due to financial inability.
Those provisions were stripped after facing pushback from environmental groups, who felt the original bill would allow landfill owners to skirt the state’s clean air rules and could jeopardize climate goals.
Landfills are the third-largest emitter of methane in Colorado, according to state data, and the greenhouse gas is the second-largest driver of climate change after carbon dioxide. While methane has a shorter lifespan than carbon dioxide, it is also more potent, with a warming effect that is 86 times stronger than carbon dioxide over a 20–year-period, according to the Climate and Clean Air Coalition.
Some of the bill’s environmental opponents were groups that had advocated for the new methane rules last year, which they said had already been negotiated with local governments and landfill operators to reach a compromise.
“The final rule is the most cost-effective means to achieve the necessary and desired results in reduction in air pollution,” said Megan Kemp, Colorado policy representative for Earthjustice, during the bill’s April 13 committee hearing.
Mounting pressures
Local officials say they’re hopeful the bill, in its current state, will unlock desperately needed funding opportunities for landfills that can help mitigate the cost impacts on residents.
Still, some are disappointed that key elements were dropped from the legislation.
“I absolutely understand and appreciate the concern of the environmental community and their advocacy,” Pogue said, “but a little more flexibility would have been fair given the budget constraints that local governments have right now.”
Pogue added that counties like hers have already invested heavily in programs meant to make their landfills cleaner. Several Western Slope communities were lauded in a report last year by environmental advocates that highlighted recycling and waste diversion programs, which it said help lower emissions and reduce pollution.
“Most of the landfills out here in western Colorado want to do the right thing,” Tyler Carvell, Pitkin County’s landfill director, said of the state’s new methane regulations. “No one wants to expose their population to more methane than they need to. But they just need time to make it happen.”
Carvell said he wishes lawmakers had provided a pathway in their bill to give local governments more time to comply as they scramble to identify funding.
While lawmakers’ bill gives landfill operators another avenue to receive state dollars through the community impact cash fund, it does not inject any new funding into that account, and counties will have to compete with other entities and projects to receive the money.
Like most publicly-owned waste facilities, Pitkin County’s landfill is funded through enterprise dollars, which usually means fees for services, rather than general tax revenue. Carvell said that will almost certainly mean raising trash fees for residents to help pay for the new costs.
“I’m not really sure without some additional funding sources that there’s a way around it,” he said.
Carvell said that while the county projects that infrastructure costs will be around $3.5 million, those estimates are in today’s dollars, and inflation will likely push those figures even higher by the time counties actually have to implement the new systems.
Another concern for Carvell is ensuring the county has the personnel to maintain the new landfill systems, given the staffing pressures already facing high-cost-of-living resort areas. With those new systems also come rules for how quickly landfill operators must respond to issues.
“Most of my staff don’t even live within an hour of the landfill,” he said, adding, “It’s going to be really hard to find qualified people and have the budget to pay them enough in a certain range where they can actually deal with these problems.”
CHAFFEE COUNTY, Colo. (KKTV) – A 27-year-old Salida man who went missing while hunting earlier this month was found dead over the weekend, bringing a dayslong search in rugged terrain near Mount Shavano to a close.
The Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office said Kaden Sites was found near Tabeguache Creek, about a mile and a half from where his truck was discovered near the Blanks Cabin Trailhead.
Sites had gone hunting alone April 15 and planned to return for a doctor’s appointment later that day, according to Sheriff Andy Rohrich. When Sites missed that appointment, family members alerted authorities, launching an extensive search effort that spanned more than a week.
Rohrich described the toll the operation took on both crews and loved ones.
“Very tired, our entire team is. I can only imagine how tired all the family and friends are.” Rohrich said.
Multiple agencies and volunteers assisted in the search, covering difficult terrain marked by steep hills, heavy brush and downed timber.
“We appreciate all our neighboring counties who jumped in when we needed them. They were amazing to work with and the family was so appreciative for their help,” Rohrich said.
Search crews faced significant challenges navigating the backcountry conditions.
“The terrain for sure. All very heavy brush, steep hills and a ton of down timber. Very dangerous. But, our teams and the volunteers were un-wavered by Mother Nature,” Rohrich said.
In a message to the Sites family, Rohrich expressed sympathy while acknowledging the difficult outcome.
“I am so sorry for their loss. I always had some level of hope we would bring their loved one home safe. The end result really stinks. I am confident that he was no longer with us when the search started which brings some level of relief to the teams that he was not suffering. We join the family in grieving this loss to our community,” he said.
Authorities said foul play is not suspected. The cause of death has not been released as the investigation continues.
Sites’ sister, Hannah, said the family is grateful for the outpouring of support and hopes people will consider donating to Chaffee County Search and Rescue after crews spent nearly two weeks searching for her brother. You can donate to the North and South teams here.
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Police are seeking other potential sexual assault victims of a rideshare driver who is now accused of driving away with an intoxicated female when her boyfriend got out of the vehicle.
Javier Delgado-Cordoba, 29, of Denver, turned himself in at the Jefferson County Jail on Monday, April 20. A warrant was issued by the Arvada Police Department the previous Friday for his arrest. Delgado-Cordoba was released the following day on a $20,000 cash bond, according to online court records.
The incident happened in January, after the woman went to a bar in the Denver area and then requested an Uber ride with her boyfriend to a residence in Arvada, according to Arvada PD’s press release. A driver named “Javier” reportedly picked them up in a light-colored 2023 Kia K5 sedan.
When they arrived at the Arvada residence, the boyfriend left the car to unlock the residence’s door. During that time, the driver entered the backseat with the female victim. She was intoxicated, per APD.
When the boyfriend quickly returned, the driver jumped back into the driver’s seat and drove away with the victim still inside, detectives reported.
The victim was dropped off at a business in another city later that night. Employees helped her get in touch with relatives, according to APD’s press release.
Later, the victim sought medical care and participated in a forensic exam. The DNA evidence obtained from that exam, along with information from interviews and Delgado-Cordoba’s rideshare profile and social media, led Arvada PD to pursue charges against him this month.
“As with many cases of this nature,” APD stated in its press release, “certain elements of the investigation, including forensic DNA analysis, required additional time to complete thoroughly and accurately.”
Arvada PD stated it believes there may be other victims. Delgado-Cordoba has been an Uber driver for about a year and may have driven other vehicles during that time, according to Arvada PD detectives. He had completed more than 1,000 rides in that time.
“We recognize that these types of crimes are deeply personal and difficult to report,” stated Arvada Chief of Police Ed Brady in the press release. “Our goal in sharing this information is to ensure that anyone who may have been affected knows they are not alone and that support and resources are available.”
Anyone who believes they may have been victimized by Delgado-Cordoba is encouraged to call their local police department or sheriff’s office. They can also contact the Arvada Police Department directly at its tip line, (720) 898-7171, and reference case AR26001904.
Delgado-Cordoba is scheduled to appear in Jefferson County court on May 20. He currently faces three felony counts of sexual assault. He is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
DENVER (KDVR) — Colorado leaders are reacting after President Donald Trump and other top U.S. officials were evacuated from the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner after a shooting incident on Saturday evening.
Officials said the incident occurred when a gunman opened fire in the lobby entrance of the Washington Hilton, which was outside the ballroom where Trump and other guests were seated.
All officials protected by the Secret Service were evacuated and uninjured. Those in attendance included Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio — and many other leaders of the Trump administration.
Colorado leaders from both parties reacted to the incident throughout Saturday night.
Here’s what they had to say.
Rep. Jeff Hurd
Rep. Hurd on X said the following:
“Grateful for the law enforcement officers and first responders who acted quickly to keep people safe following the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
“Violence has no place in our politics. It must be condemned clearly and consistently.
“Keeping all those involved in my prayers tonight.”
Senator John Hickenlooper
“Appalled by the shooting at the White House Correspondents Dinner. A night meant to celebrate the First Amendment was disrupted by political violence, which has no place in America. Grateful to the Secret Service and law enforcement who acted quickly and bravely to save lives,” said Sen. Hickenlooper on X.
Rep. Jason Crow
On X, Rep. Crow provided the following statement:
“Grateful that everyone attending the White House Correspondents’ Dinner is safe.
“Thank you to the Secret Service and law enforcement for quickly responding to shots fired at the event.
“Violence is never acceptable.”
Senator Michael Bennet
Sen. Bennet posted to X the following:
“A time-honored event dedicated to the First Amendment and a free press was disrupted by violence that has no place in our country.
“Grateful that those in attendance are safe, and thankful to the Secret Service and law enforcement who acted swiftly to protect lives.”
Rep. Diana DeGette
“The reported shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner is deeply disturbing. Violence is never acceptable,” said Rep. DeGette on X.
Rep. Jeff Crank
Rep. Crank provided the following statement on X:
“Thankful for the swift action from Secret Service and law enforcement at this evening’s WHCD to ensure President Trump and all attendees are safe.
“Pray for our country. There is no place for violence.”
Rep. Gabe Evans
On X, Rep. Evans said the following:
“My family and I are keeping everyone affected by tonight’s shooting in our thoughts and prayers.
“We are so grateful for the brave men and women in law enforcement who acted swiftly to ensure everyone was kept safe.
“There is no place for violence in our country.”
Gov. Jared Polis
“While details are still emerging, violence, even the attempt and I’m glad the President, Vice President and all in attendance are safe. I appreciate the law enforcement who responded quickly to ensure everyone’s safety. We all have the right to disagree, but never to try and hurt each other,” said Gov. Polis on X.
Rep. Lauren Boebert
Rep. Boebert said the following on X:
“Thank God President Trump is safe.
“The United States Secret Service hasn’t been funded for 70 days because of the Radical Left.
“Either this is their plan OR they need to change course and fund DHS/USSS NOW.”
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser
“Political violence has no place in our democratic republic. And those who engage in such actions must be held accountable. Thinking about those at the WH Correspondents’ Dinner tonight and their safety and praying for healing our republic,” said AG Weiser on X.
Developing details
The shooting suspect was later identified as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, two law enforcement officials told the Associated Press.
In a White House press briefing later on Saturday night, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said the suspect is being charged preliminarily with two charges related to using a firearm and assaulting an officer with a dangerous weapon, but that there will be many more charges filed “based on the information that we are learning in this very fluid situation.”
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the investigation is ongoing.
The White House Correspondents’ Association dinner was scrapped, but White House officials said it will be rescheduled.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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