PARK COUNTY, Colo. — A septic leak in July is reigniting a festering conflict between Park County residents who opposed a waste transfer station near their homes, the business owner who put it there and the county that approved the station.
Park County commissioners approved the rezoning for the controversial site — owned by Adam Shirley's business, ASKAG LLC— in February. Roughly five months later, some of the neighbors opposed to the project contacted Denver7 Investigates to report what they said was “raw sewage,” or essentially human waste, cascading down their property.
Bobby Sample was one of the neighbors who noticed the issue and realized that it was coming from the waste transfer station.
“It was a steady stream,” he said. “Gallons upon gallons were coming down.”
Sample described his emotions as “disgust” and “anger.”
Others in the Will-O-Wisp subdivision along Highway 285 just past the Park County line felt like they warned county leadership that something like this would happen if they approved the project. Interim Park County Manager Mike Smith said he had a strong reaction when he first heard of the leak.
“It was definitely ‘Oh s***. We did not need this,'” Smith said.
Smith said his biggest concern was safety levels, but said this incident did not endanger the public. But that did not stop residents from further questioning county leaders.
“What is happening is he’s dumping poop,” one resident said. “Evidently Park County has not been checking things out and overseeing things.”
Smith said those community members have an opportunity to say “I told you so.” He noted that Shirley did not violate the law but did violate trust with the county. He also said he believed Shirley owed his neighbors an apology.
This issue first bubbled up last year when residents came to Denver7 Investigates with concerns that Shirley was receiving preferential treatment from county leadership while going through the application process for his waste transfer station. One former county planner called the application a "guaranteed success."
Denver7 Investigates
Controversy continues to brew over Park County waste transfer station
Shirley also told some community members that he was building without a permit and the county knew what he was doing. This was captured on a recording that was shared with Denver7 Investigates.
Despite the outcry from residents, Park County commissioners approved rezoning the land to allow the transfer station by a 2-1 vote in February.
After the spill, Shirley agreed to speak with Denver7 Investigates for the first time after denying requests for the previous stories.
“We didn’t want this stuff to happen and do not want any of this stuff to happen,” Shirley said. “I would apologize that it occurred, but this did not happen intentionally. It was a pump that inadvertently turned on.”
Shirley also accepted responsibility for the incident and said he acted quickly to fix the problem. He said what came out of the pipe and onto people’s property was septage treated with lime.
“I will do my utmost to make sure this never happens again,” he said.
Shirley said he is looking to make peace with neighbors. However, that may be a challenge, as sources say neighbors are considering legal action against Shirley for the impact of the spill.
Clean-up crews were on site when Denver7 Investigates visited Park County shortly after the spill. Shirley paid for that clean-up.
