The state of Colorado denied a proposal submitted by Rocky Mountain Industrials (RMI) for an 18-acre quarry expansion last week. 

The denial is just one of the challenges RMI, also known as RMR Aggregates, Inc., has faced over the past few months. RMI was ordered to stop mining at the Mid-Continent limestone quarry in January.

Submitted to the Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety (DRMS) on Jan. 29, the proposal aimed to increase RMI’s current state boundary at the limestone quarry north of Glenwood Springs from 38 acres to 56.10 acres.

The proposal was submitted as a technical revision to RMI’s state mining permit. The revision was supposed to edit RMI’s reclamation plan to include rock bolting needed to stabilize the quarry headwall that collapsed in 2023.

The Glenwood Springs Citizens’ Alliance on Feb. 5 urged DRMS to deny the technical revision and process the proposed expansion as a permit amendment. An amendment would provide more opportunities for public review, according to a Feb. 6 news release from the Alliance. 

RMI’s expansion proposal was rejected by DRMS on Friday.

“(Technical Revision-8) requests a modification unrelated to the communications between DRMS and (RMI) related to rock bolting and the associated financial warranty,” the DRMS letter, signed by Amy Yeldell, environmental protection specialist, states.

The letter also mentions that for RMI to amend the mining plan and expand the quarry, it must first obtain approval from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The quarry is on federal land managed by BLM and RMI is authorized to operate on 15.9 acres, around 22 acres less than the state-approved boundary. RMI received a notice of noncompliance from BLM in 2022 for operating beyond its authorized acreage. 

Additionally, RMI submitted the technical revision as a confidential document that was not publicly accessible. The state’s letter clarifies that while some information can be kept confidential, whole revisions cannot be.

RMI has 30 days from the receipt of DRMS’s letter to submit a new technical revision that incorporates rock bolting into the reclamation plan. Notably, the revision cannot change RMI’s permitted land acreage, as this can only be achieved through an amendment process, as outlined in the letter. 

“We appreciate Colorado DRMS staff bringing a swift end to this attempt by (RMI) to pull a switcheroo in its reclamation bond process,” Heather McGregor, vice president of the Glenwood Springs Citizens’ Alliance, said. “Now (RMI) is under a tight deadline to get back in line and follow the rules.”

RMI did not respond to the Post Independent’s request for comment.