A major rock slide inside the Rocky Mountain Industrials (RMI) limestone quarry near Transfer Trail north of Glenwood Springs on Jan. 18 shut down operations for several months, pending investigations by federal and state agencies.

No one was injured when a 200-foot section of the quarry highwall gave way and sent a mass of rocks tumbling down onto a production bench above the quarry’s processing facility.

The federal Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) issued a cease and desist order for operations where the slide occurred.

RMI’s plan to resume operations in portions of the quarry not affected by the slide was approved by MSHA in early July, and a geotechnical report on the slide that was issued later in the summer concluded that more mining upslope from the slide area would be necessary to stabilize the limestone layers. 

RMI was already being allowed to operate the quarry despite a notice of noncompliance issued by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management in August 2022, due to the mine operating outside its permitted area. 

Among the alleged violations was that the highwall portion of the quarry did not meet the approved mining plan.

The Glenwood Springs Citizens’ Alliance (GSCA), which formed in 2018 to oppose a major expansion plan for the quarry, requested a full investigation of the slide incident and asked that the mine be shut down. 

Meanwhile, the quarry continued to be the subject of litigation on several fronts this past year, while its plan to significantly expand the mining area from less than 20 acres to 321 acres, with up to 450 truckloads per day and a rail loadout on Devereux Road, continues to be under review by the BLM. 

The GSCA has sued the BLM for allowing the quarry to continue to operate in spite of the noncompliance issues. In February 2023, the Colorado Court of Appeals upheld a District Court ruling affirming that Garfield County does have authority to impose seasonal restrictions on the operation.