Opposition Growing Against
Round Mtn’s Sludge Proposal

by George Gramlich,
News and Commentary
After the Sentinel’s front-page article (March 17, 2025) on
Round Mountain Water and Sanitation District’s (Round Mountain)
proposal to disperse the accumulated waste treatment sludge at the bottom of their sediment lagoons as fertilizer on a ranch on the valley floor, there has been a flood of citizens coming forward to object to it. On various grounds.
Note that there are a lot of facts and issues still up in the air as Round Mountain and the contractor hired to do the job, Denali Water Solutions, have yet to bring their case to the public. (This will occur on March 27th, after the Sentinel’s press deadline this week. The Board of County Commissioners decided to have a public meeting, at Lange Hall on that date concerning the sludge proposal. Denali and Round Mountain are scheduled to talk about the issue. The public can ask questions only in writing, however. The Sentinel will report on this in detail.)

So far, some interesting points have been raised by the parties objecting. The first, and possibly the most important one, is that the sludge may contain “forever chemicals” including the infamous PFAS family of molecules that are linked to cancer and other bad outcomes. Round Mountain has admitted to this but say they are under the current limit for legal dispersion. However, the sludge PFAS results have not been released. One local objector has stated that the feds are working on new regulations regarding various substances, including PFAS, which might be promulgated soon.
Many citizens have stated that rain will cause the dispersed sludge to flow into local waterways including the crucial Grape Creek drainage that feeds Lake DeWeese and eventually the Arkansas River. It is alleged that this would seriously contaminate the water and the creatures that habit the streams.
Also, it would affect any grazing animals on pasture downstream and also contaminate any hay produced from those fields. Wells were also mentioned as possible issues.
Another potential problem might be the amount of sludge applied per square foot. A citizen, using figures apparently from Round Mountain, has calculated that the amount of sludge/fertilizer applied would greatly exceed acceptable limits based on the amount of sludge and the area available to spread it. (The land in question is the old “Johnson Ranch” on the valley floor. It was told to us by Round Mountain that it’s currently owned by a guy named Knopf, out of Pueblo.)
It is not known if Mr. Knopf has actually signed a contract with Denali to allow them to apply the sludge to his property.
It is known that the Custer County Planning Commission is working on regulations concerning waste treatment sludge and its application as fertilizer in the county. This has just happened in the last two weeks.
One local rancher is considering suing Round Mountain to prevent this. There have been a ton of articles and research papers dis-covered in the last two weeks by local citizens that show that this waste treatment sludge to fertilizer application is potentially harmful. In a variety of ways. (We will print several next week and link to others.)
Another potential defendant would be the landowner, Mr. Knopf.
Round Mountain has stated that the sludge meets all Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) standards. CDPHE standards are normally pretty strict, so this is a point
to consider.
Custer County Commissioner Lucas Epp is looking into alternatives to applying the sludge to a local hayfield. He is also contacting other companies that do sludge processing for information.
This waste treatment sludge to fertilizer process has been used around the country for a long time. However, it has only been in the last few years that possible problems with the application have come to light. We are now in an ongoing process to see if the problems are serious enough to stop the practice.
Round Mountain has stated that the cost for Denali to do this job is $300k. If the sludge can’t be dispersed close to Round Mountain, the cost could go to at least $1.3 million to $2 million to take it some other place. (Note: Our landfill is prohibited from taking biosolids, waste treatment sludge.) Round Mountain says it does not have the money to pay for that increase.
If Round Mountain can’t get rid of the sludge, then it won’t be able to install its new Electrocoagulation system wastewater processing system and will be in violation of Colorado waste treatment standards. (They are probably in violation now, as are dozens of other small municipalities/counties around Colorado, due the enormous cost to meet the radical discharge standards that CDPHE has promulgated.)
Whether there are any other cost-effective means of getting rid of the sludge so Round Mountain can proceed with their waste treatment processing upgrade is unknown.
If no upgrade to Round Mountain’s waste treatment system occurs, it means no new water/sewage taps for the Town of Westcliffe and the Town of Silver Cliff. This would cause great economic distress in the two towns, and eventually the whole county.
It looks like the County Commissioners, via the Planning Commission and the County’s Zoning Resolution, will have the power to regulate this. And to give it the OK or stop it. Round Mountain is planning on doing this in May, so time is possibly short to get it through the regulation process. Or a citizen might try a lawsuit to stop it.
County Commissioners Bill Canda, Lucas Epp and Paul Vogelsong: Put on your big boy pants as this is going to be a tough one.
We will know more after the Lange Hall meeting.