How to lodge a complaint

We cannot over-emphasize how important it is to establish a clear public record of complaints and violations. To get action, a public record of non-compliance is ESSENTIAL.

 

Each complaint should clearly describe the incident:

  • Was the violation visible emissions, loud noise, illegal traffic routing, hours of operation, etc.? Off property transport of visible emissions is a violation of the State of Colorado Air permit.
  • Date, time (can be approximate), and duration observed. Did the violation end during your observation, or was it ongoing before and after your observation?
  • How far were you from the observed violation?
  • Was it a one-time event, or have your observed this repeatedly? Can you estimate how often, or did you note when similar events occurred?
  • Did you measure the event? For example: phone apps can record noise level; take a picture, you can compare visible emissions to opacity reference standards.
  • Include any other pertinent details – where there many people or machines involved, was weather important (e.g. windy, calm, very dry, etc.), did to talk to anyone and what was their response, etc.

 

Pictures can be very important and persuasive!

(You can include up to six photographs (up to 4 MB each) with a complaint)

Here’s an example of a good complaint:

On Friday 6 March at approximately 9:35am I observed dust blowing off the gravel piles, and off LRM property adjacent to the LRM Concrete Batch plant near LaPorte, on the north side of CR 54G. I was on CR 54G about 300 yards from the gravel piles.  The dust plumes were extensive and were visible as they extended for at least 100 yards from gravel piles to the west. There was a strong wind blowing from the east. I observed the visible particulate emissions for about 2 minutes as I drove by and briefly stopped. I have observed similar emissions several times in the past month, and I took pictures that clearly show these dust plumes on March 6.

A single event can violate county, state, or federal regulations, and it may be most effective to file the same complaint with both the county and state. Federal and state regulations will normally be enforced by the state (CDPHE).

 

Complain to Larimer County – noise, air emissions, traffic, hours of operation, drag-out, or other on-site activities:

File an online complaint at https://www.larimer.org/codecompliance/report/form

 

State or Federal violations – air emissions, water, noise, traffic, unsafe mining practices

Contact the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment Citizen’s Advocate. If your complaint is outside their jurisdiction, they will refer you to the proper department or authority. They promise to generally respond within 24 hours.

If you call in a complaint, we strongly encourage you to also submit an electronic concern to ensure there is a public record.

 

Complaints are handled by the CDPHE Citizen’s Advocate. For more information see:

https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/cdphe/citizens-advocate-information

 

CDPHE Citizen’s Advocate contacts:

Phone: 303-692-2020

Email:  cdphe.information@state.co.us

 

Address:

Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment

Citizens Advocate

4300 Cherry Creek Drive South

Denver, CO 80246