Commissioners have not adopted policy yet
HUERFANO — Discussions in Pueblo County regarding use of St. Charles Mesa water for Two Rivers’ marijuana growing company, GrowCo, have revealed a grow operation and warehouse facility is planned to be located in northeastern Huerfano County on land owned by Two Rivers. The St. Charles Mesa Water District had been waiting for the federal government to weigh in on the proposal and, as reported in the Pueblo Chieftain, a policy decision that allows the water use was adopted in July. The district says it will follow the federal policy and the Two Rivers plan is expected to move forward, but not until local permits have been obtained in the affected locations. The Huerfano County Board of County Commissioners have not formally adopted a marijuana farm policy, but are expected to do so soon, as the county plans to put an excise tax question before voters in November that would deal exclusively with marijuana grown in the county for export to other Colorado locations. No recreational or medicinal marijuana ordinances have been passed by the county commissioners. Walsenburg City Council has approved, by ordinance, medicinal marijuana operations and La Veta has recently adopted a marijuana ordinance. Currently, there are no legal marijuana outlets in Huerfano County, either recreational or medicinal. In July, Two Rivers CEO John McKowen said the company will finance construction, use its existing water rights and supply 300 acres of land on Butte Valley Farm in Huerfano County for the GrowCo operation. Two Rivers will still need to file a metropolitan service plan with the St. Charles Mesa Water District to irrigate the Huerfano County operation. In Pueblo County, the marijuana operation is planned for a location on
Undercliffe Road, serviced by the Huerfano-Cuchara Ditch and in Huerfano County on the Butte Valley Farm located east of I-25 and north of the Huerfano Butte. GrowCo and Two Rivers said in a press release last month they expect to obtain the necessary permits by the end of this year and have the combined 90,000 square foot warehouses and 15,000 square foot processing facilities to be up and running in 2015. Licensed marijuana growers, as clients, would lease space in the two facilities. But, before anything happens in Huerfano County, the board of commissioners will have to put local regulations in place.
