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Some Moffat County residents are worried that a uranium tailings dump could harm the county's air and water.

The Moffat County commissioners met with the county's chief medical officer, Dr. Thomas Told, to begin developing criteria for the conditional-use permit, for which the dump's developer eventually will need to apply. The commissioners' chambers were packed for the discussion.

"My knee jerk reaction is I don't want to accept the lowest federal standard," Told said.

Jim Ross, owner of Intermountain Realty, has proposed creating a uranium tailings dump near Maybell. Although the site must conform to federal and state regulations, commissioners will need to approve a conditional use permit for the dump.

The commissioners made no decisions about requirements for the dump at Tuesday's meeting. Rather, they instructed Told to begin researching hazardous waste disposal regulations.

Some audience members voiced concerns that prevailing westerly winds would blow contaminated air from the dump site to the eastern parts of Moffat County. Audience members also asked how the dump would affect water.

"We're going to crap up this whole area if we don't have stringent standards," George Barrie said. Barrie became sick from inhaling uranium-contaminated air while working at the Rocky Flats nuclear weapons facility.

Rocky Flats was a highly regulated federal facility, and workers still became sick, Barrie said. Just because the dump would be regulated doesn't ensure public safety, he said.

Barrie and many of the other audience members oppose the dump.

"I would just like to be sure the inventory and data gathering includes the entire environment. I believe wildlife can be affected by these dumps, and that should be looked at very closely," Moffat County resident Rick Hammel said.

Moffat County Planning Director Sue Graler said the public would have multiple opportunities to provide comments about the dump before commissioners vote on the conditional use permit.

The commissioners discussed developing a policy that would set standards for hazardous waste disposal. Public hearings would be held before standards are adopted, Commissioner Darryl Steele said.

Graler plans to investigate "1041 Powers," which the county could assert to legally strengthen federal or state standards for the dump.

Ross has estimated it could be two to three years before he's ready to file the documents necessary to receive approval for the dump.