Just as Marshall fire victims thought that the legal squabbling over the debris cleanup was over, another lawsuit adds uncertainty to when they will be able to rebuild their homes.

This time, the legal challenge comes from one of the 10 contractors that competed for the $60 million debris cleanup contract. Ceres Environmental lost out to DRC Emergency Services. In its lawsuit, Ceres is asking the court to invalidate and terminate the county’s contract with DRC, which was awarded the bid Feb. 10. 

The lawsuit, filed Thursday, is the latest in a series of legal disputes and appeals over the bid for the the debris removal contract. Ceres has an impressive resume including post-disaster recovery for Hurricane Katrina and the 2018 Northern California wildfires. But Boulder County said DRC had the lowest bid.

In the lawsuit, Ceres contends that DRC is not fit for the job even though DRC received a higher score than any of the other bidders.

On March 29, Boulder County officials and DRC assured over 500 victims watching a video chat that excavators would start hauling away piles of rubble starting next week in a process that is slated to take four months. The project was originally promised to start March 1, so it is around six weeks behind schedule.

It’s unclear whether the latest lawsuit over debris removal will affect the start of hauling away rubble that has been lying around for over three months. Concerns over environmental waste are mounting as gas cans, burned out cars and refrigerator coolant could be threatening the soil, but Boulder County said it will move forward with cleanup unless the courts order it to stop.

City leaders are disappointed with the latest development. Displaced residents already overwhelmed by loss say the legal squabbling adds to post-disaster anxiety.

“I don’t know who’s right or wrong. It seems like Boulder County used a good bidding process,” said Louisville Mayor Ashley Stoltzmann. “The urgency is, how do we get this debris removed and move ahead with the county. We’ve got to get this stuff out of here.”

In a news release, Boulder County Attorney Ben Pearlman said the lawsuit is without merit.

“It’s heartbreaking that a large disaster management firm with no ties to Colorado is attempting to hold up our ability to make progress in Marshall Fire recovery efforts. We’ve learned throughout this process that in the highly competitive environment of private disaster management firms, like Ceres, are focused more on money than on the families affected by disasters.” 

In Louisville, 550 homes and businesses were destroyed in the fire. Superior reported 380, and in unincorporated Boulder County, that number was 156. Of those 1,084 parcels, around 750 are relying on the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s program to clean up their properties. That number is down 100 from a month ago. 

Increasingly, residents leery of counting on the government program offered by their county and FEMA are hiring contractors and duking out the process on their own, even though taking this on means FEMA won’t reimburse them for the cost.

An entire neighborhood in Superior’s Rock Creek subdivision is exploring that possibility. A community of 30 people have been bonding over meetings to vet contractors in case they decide to opt out of the government program en masse.

“All of the mechanisms are moving too slowly for us,” said Chad Cheek. “It’s all a big show with no results. The only thing that’s working is neighbors sharing info and working together.” Cheek added that he has no complaints with city leaders, who he says have been “busting it” to help him.

Rock Creek is one of the last on Boulder County’s schedule of fire-ravaged neighborhoods for debris removal. According to the timeline, this could mean that properties in this area may not be cleared before September. Add to that the necessary soil inspection and various permits that follow debris cleanup, and Cheek doesn’t foresee foundations will poured before October.

“The clock is ticking and we feel it,” said Cheek.

He said most of the contractors his neighborhood group has spoken with won’t start a foundation that late in the year due to possible freezing temperatures, so he feels he has little choice but to move forward on his own.

Neal Shah, who serves on Superior’s Town Board, was feeling Marshall fire-weary on Thursday.

“The residents need certainty. … And the electeds, including myself, have not been able to deliver that. We’ve either taken too long or maybe didn’t follow the best process and that is all (leading) to longer timelines and uncertainty to the detriment of our residents,” said Shah.

Attempts to reach attorneys for Ceres were unsuccessful.