2022-05-10_GENERAL DOCUMENTS - M1993041

Home Browse Search

Dowe Flats Special Use Permit Amendment Application May 2, 2022 The following are some SMM goals and policies from the Comprehensive Plan that are applicable to the Dowe Flats application. Goal 1. Promote & Uphold the County's SMM Values. Boulder County promotes SMM in its actions, policies, and decision-making countywide. The county values SMM for its environmental protection, including greenhouse gas emission mitigation, its economic soundness, and its contribution to community vitality and quality of life. SMM prioritizes diversion practices that best preserve the inherent value of the resources used. SMM 1.01 Support for SMM Efforts. Boulder County supports efforts that promote SMM best practices (consistent with adopted plans and agreements) in the following areas: environmental stewardship, product stewardship, resource conservation, pollution prevention, mitigation of adverse climate impacts, and protection of public health. The county will strive to support initiatives that align with SMM including those related to facilities, programs, granting mechanisms, policy mechanisms, local markets, education and outreach. SMM 1.01.01 To the extent possible, the county shall support land use decisions that align with SMM while balancing other regulatory and policy priorities, e.g., zoning amendments, and/or property acquisitions for facilities in suitable locations. SMM values, functions and impacts to county lands shall be considered in the review of development proposals submitted through the Community Planning & Permitting Department. As a society, we depend on cement to make concrete, which is used to construct infrastructure and improvements throughout Boulder County. Sourcing natural resources locally from Dowe Flats for use at CEMEX, Inc.'s cement plant optimizes environmental stewardship. The product is mined locally and transported via covered conveyor directly to the cement plant avoiding the need for trucking the material. Closing Dowe Flats before most of the mineral resource has been extracted would be contrary to SMM best practices as it would not enhance and would potentially degrade environmental stewardship, product stewardship, resource conservation, pollution prevention, mitigation of adverse climate impacts, and protection of public health. Therefore, this permit extension aligns with Boulder County's Sustainable Materials Management goals. Sustainability Goal 1. Promote Outcomes Consistent with Principles of Sustainability. The county recognizes and accepts that weighing individual wants and needs with those of the larger public and society is a complex but essential responsibility of government. Implementing the Comprehensive Plan involves the need to balance competing goals and policies in cases where they cannot be harmonized. With that understanding in mind, Boulder County's land use management tools and practices should be designed to promote decisions and actions supporting outcomes that are consistent with the principles of sustainability. Dowe Flats is an existing mine site that has been operating in the County with very minimal impact on the County and its residents. From a sustainability perspective, it would be prudent to allow the resource still available within the mine to be removed rather than abandoned. Continuing to mine at Dowe Flats helps minimize the need to disturb new sites to access mineral resources. As an added benefit, Dowe Flats transports the material mined on-site via covered conveyor to the cement plant, avoiding the need for trucking the material, which is in the best interests of the community and the larger public. Goal 3.Address Wasteful Resource Practices & Identify Constituencies & Partners in Sustainability Efforts. Sustainability actions or programs undertaken by the county should address the following factors: • The origins or causes of wasteful resource practices as well as the harmful effects of such practices; Review Criteria Statement—Page 6 O TETRA TECH