Urgent: Help Protect Browns Canyon and the Arkansas Valley

The Arkansas River is enjoyed by boaters from every corner of Colorado and it is renowned around the country. A long, reliable season with incredible whitewater and breathtaking scenery were among the many reasons Congress designated Browns Canyon a National Monument in 2015. It's hard to imagine “enjoying” up to 10 trains full of heavy crude oil and hazardous chemicals rumbling by as you paddle the Arkansas River. We need your help to protect Browns Canyon from this threat – today. 


The Colorado Midland and Pacific Railway recently signed a lease agreement with Union Pacific to operate the rails of the Tennessee Pass line. These tracks run from Sage to Parkdale, through the Arkansas Valley and Browns Canyon National Monument and we believe there is a significant chance they are proposing to use these lines to move heavy crude oil from northeast Utah to refineries along the Gulf Coast. On New Year's Eve, CMPR filed with the federal Surface Transportation Board for an exemption from regulations that should apply to their proposed operations. If you take into account the potential for derailments - several accidents on the line played a role in the decision to stop use of the line in '97 - the threat of an oil spill in the Arkansas River makes their proposal unacceptable. 


We've put together a letter to send to the Surface Transportation Board informing them that despite the claims of the CMPR, this lease and ensuing operations are in fact not “routine” nor “non-controversial” and requesting that CMPR's exemption be rejected. Please fill out your information below to sign on with us. If you  have time and want to go the extra-mile here, please follow the instrucitons in our web article to object to this proposal yourself. Thank you!
 

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Letter to STB:


Re: Docket No. 36471, Colorado, Midland & Pacific Railway Company --Lease and Operation Exemption Containing Interchange Commitment-- Union Pacific Railroad Company


Dear Cynthia Brown, 


We are writing to you today to express concerns about Colorado Midland and Pacific Railway's application for an exemption of Board approval for the lease and operation of 163.1 miles of the Tennessee Pass Rail line. As a whitewater paddler, I am gravely concerned about the impacts to the recreational, scenic and natural values of the Arkansas River, especially as it flows through Browns Canyon. As Colorado's newest national monument, Browns Canyon exemplifies Colorado's recreational and conservational ethos. The operation of this line would have devastating impacts on a robust recreation economy and tourism throughout the Arkansas Valley. 


The notice of exemption contains what we believe to be false or misleading information. Previous applications for operation of this dormant line identified annual operating costs between Parkdale and Dotsero to be $5.7 million. Colorado Midland and Pacific Railway (CMPR) have claimed annual revenues would not exceed the $5 million threshold; conveniently, exceeding this threshold would make their operations ineligible for exemption. Even if prior estimations were off by a magnitude of $1 million, CMPR's operations would fail financially. The rehabilitation of the line which has not had any train activity in 24 years would cost tens of millions of dollars alone. That would result in decades of operation to recoup those reclamation costs.


Additionally, the same application states CMPR is leasing tracks from Union Pacific for continued use while simultaneously identifying that the tracks have seen no traffic in over 20 years. The confidential nature of this lease agreement and misleading information in the exemption notice alone exceed the standard of “routine” and “non-controversial” required by this process. The impacts to local communities and their economies will no doubt raise controversy. This letter alone should indicate the level of contention and there have already been numerous other comments filed by concerned and affected parties. 
We request you deny the Colorado Midland and Pacific Railway this exemption on the grounds that it does not meet the requirements of the exemption process, it contains false and misleading information, and is not in the public interest.


Sincerely,

Your name