A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service last spring, in which several community and activist groups argued that opening Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge to the public could be a health hazard.
U.S. District Judge Christine Arguello on Friday ruled that because federal officials have not commenced with plans to build trails and a visitor center at Rocky Flats, former home to a nuclear weapons plant that operated north of Arvada for four decades, the plaintiffs’ claim that proper environmental reviews had yet to be conducted was not “ripe.”
But Randall Weiner, attorney for the plaintiffs, said Arguello “left the door open for us to challenge the decisions at that time if they are not proper.”
Rocky Flats opponents will be holding a “Keep Rocky Flats Closed” rally at the state Capitol at 11 a.m. Saturday, with a series of speakers taking to the microphone at 1 p.m.