Help Us Finish the Fight: CEMEX Appeal Fund

Since the closure of CEMEX's Dowe Flats Mine in September 2022, Good Neighbors of Lyons and Save Our Saint Vrain Valley fought to hold CEMEX accountable for more than doubling heavy truck traffic on Highway 66 — a clear violation of CEMEX's Nonconforming Use that is flooding a small mountain community with hundreds of diesel trucks per day while our air quality suffered and our roads deteriorated.

In April 2024, Boulder County agreed with us. Their Planning Director issued a formal determination that CEMEX had lost its nonconforming/grandfathered operating status by dramatically intensifying its operations.

Then, on May 19, 2026 — eight days after the state of Colorado fined CEMEX $855,000 for air quality violations — Boulder County reversed itself. In a single sentence with no traffic numbers and no explanation of how it reconciled with findings from the County's own independent expert, the Director undid two years of work.

Under Boulder County's own Land Use Code, the burden of proof was on CEMEX — not the community — to demonstrate that its operations hadn't changed. What even CEMEX's own traffic study shows: truck trips to the Lyons plant increased more than 700% compared to actual 1994 levels — and that's using the numbers CEMEX submitted, which our legal team believes significantly undercount reality.

Our attorney described the reversal as legally perplexing. We're not done.

We are appealing to the Boulder County Board of Adjustment. We filed our appeal, and a public hearing will follow (likely in September). If we prevail, we go back to court. If we don't, CEMEX effectively has permanent, unchallenged license to operate. Forever. We deserve better.

This fight has largely been funded by a small group of neighbors. Now the road ahead — Board of Adjustment, and potentially District Court — is longer and more expensive than any of us can carry alone. We need your help.

The ask is simple: $26 a month from June through December 2026. That's one coffee a week. If 500 of you join us, we can see this through.

Your donation goes directly to legal fees for the Board of Adjustment appeal, managed through Save Our Saint Vrain Valley, a Colorado 501(c)3 nonprofit. Every dollar stays in this fight.

We are small. We are volunteer-run. And it is remarkable what a few dedicated people can accomplish when a community stands behind them.

Please give what you can — and share this with anyone who cares about clean air, safe roads, and accountable government in Boulder County.

CEMEX / Boulder County Appeal

Help Us Finish the Fight: CEMEX Appeal Fund