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!