The fate of a horse manure composting business is still uncertain. Several months ago, Jonathan Whetstine and his father, Roger, applied for a special use permit from the Elbert County Planning Commission for their business, Colorado Manure Hauling.They followed up with an application for a commercial well permit from the state.A hearing was held before the Colorado Ground Water Commission’s hearing officer on April 20. After due deliberation, the hearing officer decided that the operation is an agricultural well and not a commercial one. Jonathan Whetstine said they are awaiting instruction as to how to amend their well permit application.The Elbert County Planning Commission decided to wait until after the well application is completed before making a decision on the special use permit. In Elbert County, if a business has applied for a special use permit, that business can operate during the approval process. If the permit is denied, then that business has to cease operations.Colorado Manure Hauling is on County Road 74-82, which runs between Elbert Road and Peyton Highway. The first 10 feet of the property is in El Paso County. The remainder of the 55-acre site is in Elbert County.Several of the Whetstine’s neighbors have objected to the composing operation, both at a meeting held last September and in a letter to the editor in the November 2020 issue of ìThe New Falcon Herald.îIn that issue, Whetstine defined their composting process. The manure is piled in long rows, and each row is covered with a blue tarp. Before the composting process is complete, each row is turned over at least 15 times. The compost row is uncovered and turned over by a tractor-drawn machine that exposes it to the air and also allows it to be moistened by water sweetened with molasses. The temperature and carbon content of the compost row is checked before and after turning.
