Judge Won't Bar Public From Rocky Flats National Wildlife
GOLDEN, Colo. (AP) — A federal judge has rejected a request to bar the public from Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge.
The judge on Thursday refused to issue an order that would have kept the area that was once part of a nuclear weapons plant off-limits while the courts hear a lawsuit claiming the government hasn't studied public safety closely enough.
The lawsuit, filed by environmental and community activists, is pending.
Rocky Flats, which is located between Boulder and Golden in Jefferson County, was the site of a government plant that manufactured plutonium triggers for nuclear bombs from 1952 until 1989.
The area where plutonium was processed underwent a $7 billion cleanup but remains closed to the public. A buffer zone surrounding the manufacturing site was turned into a refuge.
The government plans to open some trails in September.
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