Less than 60% of responses to survey concluding there is broad support for nuclear were from confirmed Northwest Colorado residents, with just 100 responses coming from Routt County.
Editor's Note: This story was updated at 10:45 a.m.
As talk of nuclear energy is once again brewing in Northwest Colorado, a majority of Routt County Commissioners said Tuesday that they are skeptical of nuclear energy development and feel that Routt County’s support for such development has been misrepresented.
The latest talk rose to the surface last week with an article from KUNC about Northwest Colorado “quietly opening the door,” to storage of nuclear waste in the region. There was also a bill introduced in the Colorado House on Jan. 8 co-sponsored by Sen. Dylan Roberts seeking to add nuclear energy to a list of sources of clean energy used to meet the state’s 2050 clean energy goals.
“I have some concerns because I have had some constituent concerns,” said Commissioner Sonja Macys, adding that she spoke with Roberts last week about the bill. “Apparently, there is a narrative that is running out there that Northwest Colorado supports nuclear.”
Part of that narrative is backed by a survey conducted by the Northwest Colorado Energy Initiative, a group operating under the purview of the Associated Governments of Northwest Colorado. The conclusions of that survey contend that “Northwest Colorado residents were more strongly favorable to nuclear energy than the general U.S. public.”
The survey found that nearly 89% of respondents were strongly or somewhat favorable of nuclear energy development anywhere in the U.S., compared to 77% when looking at broader sentiments across the country. When asked if they supported such development in Northwest Colorado, that number was 84% strongly or somewhat favorable.
However, the methodology of the study has been inaccurately represented in news coverage, including a story published by Steamboat Pilot & Today and other newspapers based in the Colorado mountains earlier this week. Following the original publication of this story, Pilot & Today corrected its story's reference to the survey.
That story stated that the survey included 428 responses from Northwest Colorado residents while the methodology of the survey notes that confirmed residents of either Moffat, Routt or Rio Blanco counties made up less than 60% of survey respondents (245 of the 425 responses from within Colorado), according to the 31-page report of the survey reviewed by The Yampa Valley Bugle.
Another 180 responses came from “somewhere else in Colorado,” though where in the state is unknown. Three responses were not from Colorado and were excluded from the results.
The methodology also states that the survey was “publicized as widely as possible” to reach “all segments of the community,” including with direct outreach to government officials. The survey was “open to the public,” according to the methodology.
The study does not claim to be statistically valid, a process used to ensure results are reflective of public sentiments, nor does the survey offer a margin of error for its results.
“One, I was not aware that the poll had ever happened, two, I have not spoken to anybody who took it,” said Routt County Commissioner Tim Redmond. “It was quite surprising that he said a majority of residents in Routt County were in favor a of nuclear storage facility in Northwest Colorado, which I will tell you, I sort of find hard to believe.”
The methodology notes that it was sent to Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, which operates the Craig Station power plant, and the Trapper Mine. Both are located in Moffat County, which had 111 residents respond to the survey.
The methodology makes no mention of additional outreach to similar employees in Routt County working at the Hayden Station, which is operated by Xcel Energy, or at Twentymile Coal Mine. Routt County had 100 confirmed residents respond to the survey, but results are not broken out by county of origin, rather all three counties are grouped together. Rio Blanco County had 34 respondents.
“I think there have been a number of bits and pieces that are coming to the attention of a certain people that are creating an arrow of alignment toward nuclear that we are not apart of,” Macys said.
The survey notes that it underrepresented self-identified Democrats, with less than 13% of respondents identifying with that party. Nearly 38% of respondents were self-identified Republicans. Northwest Colorado is represented by Democrats in both chambers of the state legislature.
The Associated Governments of Northwest Colorado is one of Colorado’s 14 planning regions that currently represent Moffat, Rio Blanco, Garfield and Mesa counties. Routt County was a member of the AGNC until 2021, when the then-commissioners split from the group because they felt it was not accurately representing their interests. Commissioners at the time felt the group was actively lobbying for initiatives that the county was paying to oppose through other avenues.
“I think we are getting swept up into the movement that is happening elsewhere,” Macys said. “I just want to make sure that we are being clear. … My position to people that have asked me is that we have not had a discussion about nuclear in Routt County but the last time that we did it was not super favorable to the idea.”
The KUNC story about nuclear waste storage noted that such waste could be brought from around the country to the area by train, something Routt County Commissioners were also skeptical of as they are pushing to develop passenger rail on the same railroad tracks. Routt County has also opposed the use of tracks along the Colorado River to transport “waxy crude” from the Unita Basin in Utah, a matter that went before the U.S. Supreme Court last year.
The bi-partisan bill co-sponsored by Roberts is similar to one that failed to make it out of a State Senate committee last year, with Democrats voting on party lines to kill the measure. The bill has been introduced in the House this time around and has been assigned to the Energy and Environment committee. Other sponsors are from Denver, Colorado Springs and Southwest Colorado.
Macys said a “red flag” about the bill to her was that it contends Colorado is only using solar and wind as renewable energy sources, omitting sources like geothermal or hydroelectric energy production.
“I am not wildly enthusiastic about nuclear. I don’t think it’s proven yet,” Macys said. “I don’t know if we want to put it on a future agenda for discussion because I think it does relate to, one, how we respond to this bill, but two, how we consider the future of the Hayden Station because people have thrown out there this idea of would there be a nuclear facility.”
Commissioner Angelica Salinas did not opine on her opinion of nuclear in Northwest Colorado during Tuesday's discussion.
"I think this is a good conversation for our strategic work session," Salinas said. "I think it comes down to just being very proactive in what we are putting out there about our decisions and our work and our communications... versus being reactive."