Two weeks after submitting an application to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment for the 5 Star Certification Program, Moffat County received approval Tuesday afternoon in an official letter from Ann Hause, the Director of the Office of Legal and Regulatory Compliance.

As Moffat County begins to certify businesses and administer the 5 Star program, CDPHE said that Moffat County Public Health will need to meet the following conditions:

– The administrative committee must report weekly updates to Moffat Public Health and Environment and CDPHE that include the following:

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– Number of new applications from businesses for the program,

– Number of trained inspectors

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— Number of inspections conducted

– Number of businesses that fail the inspection

– New ​certifications​ granted to businesses

– Any complaints received at the county level

– Any ​warnings​ issued to certified businesses, and if any certifications have been ​revoked

– A business may only receive one warning for non-compliance with certification requirements, and the committee must remove certification for a business that demonstrates noncompliance a second time.

– In addition to your current process for accepting and investigating complaints, please ensure that CDPHE’s complaint ​form​ is easily available as part of any print or marketing materials displayed in certified businesses, as well as on any websites used by the administrative committee or County.

Under the program, if the county’s COVID metrics remain at the orange level, 5-Star certified businesses can operate under the looser yellow-level restrictions. A move to yellow on the dial would mean a business can operate at the blue level and so on.

In the program, businesses that apply and are approved must meet the following provisions:

-Requiring masks and 6-foot distancing

-For restaurants, ensuring that tables are at least 10 feet apart while at level red

-Regularly sanitizing and cleaning high-touch surfaces

-Recording customer names and contact information for tracing, if necessary

-Checking employee symptoms and tracking exposures

CDPHE will be reviewing Moffat County’s metrics within 14 days to determine continued participation in the program. The 5 Star approval is subject to further modification as deemed appropriate by CDPHE.

“I appreciate your partnership during these challenging times, and wish your community all the best in your continuing efforts to ensure residents are safe and healthy while continuing to support your local businesses as we deal with this global pandemic,” Hause said.

jcarney@craigdailypress.com