PENROSE, Colo. — The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced Tuesday that the demolition of the Return to Nature Funeral Home in Penrose has not started due to issues regarding landfill access.
The EPA, Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment (CDPHE), and Fremont County are waiting on modification to the preferred landfill's 'Certificate of Designation' to receive the demolition material.
According to the EPA, their response team and contractors have been working for many weeks on the plan, but they are unable to move forward until the agreement is in place.
The EPA released the following statement regarding the delay:
We regret this unfortunate delay and stand ready to initiate the demolition as soon as possible. We will continue to work diligently together to move forward and are committed to initiating demolition and removal of the building once landfill access is secured. EPA understands the stress and impatience among those in the community seeking closure on this tragedy. We recognize the importance of transparency and will continue to keep the public informed about next steps and new timeframes. EPA, CDPHE and Fremont County uniformly agree that there is no current health risk to the public based on the safety measures in place for demolition, transport and disposal.
The demolition, which was supposed to start this week, is being delayed for a second time. The original demolition, which was scheduled for January 17, was postponed due to scheduling issues.
The cleanup process involves demolition crews spraying the interior of the buildings with disinfectant, and odor suppressant. The building will carefully be torn down to prevent the spread of contaminants, and finally, crews will do a shallow surface scraping of the soil under the building footprint before being taken away to a landfill.
The Return to Nature Funeral home was the site where 190 bodies were found improperly stored along the side of Highway 115 in Penrose.
Owners Jon and Carie Hallford are scheduled for an arraignment hearing scheduled for March 21. During this hearing, the Hallfords can either plead guilty or not guilty.
Carie Hallford is currently being held in the El Paso County Jail, according to records. Jon Hallford is no longer in jail after he posted bond on January 29.
The Hallford's had their bonds reduced by the courts to $100,000 cash bond, from the initial $2 million set at the time of their arrests. The Hallfords are facing hundreds of criminal charges for abuse of a corpse, fraud, and money laundering.
BACKGROUND
Return to Nature Funeral Home came under a multi-agency investigation in October following reports of a complaint about a foul odor in the area. Investigators said they found more than 150 bodies in various states of decomposition inside the building that were not properly stored. The two were arrested in Oklahoma in November of 2023.
In what was a multi-agency clean-up effort, coroner offices and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation worked tirelessly for a couple of weeks to remove the bodies from the building before the identification process could begin.
It was not until early November that the owners of the Return to Nature Funeral Home were arrested in Oklahoma. Jon and Carie Hallford were moved to El Paso County by late November where both appeared in court and had cash bonds set at $2 million.
Following their arrests, News5's Eleanor Sheahan spoke with families who were victims of the funeral home.
WATCH: VICTIMS OF RETURN TO NATURE SHARE WHAT OWNER'S ARRESTS MEAN TO THEM
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