If completed, the proposed Uinta Basin Railway Project could ship 4.6 billion gallons of waxy crude oil per year through Colorado, including over one hundred miles directly alongside the headwaters of the Colorado River – the water supply for nearly 40 million Americans, 30 Tribal nations, millions of acres of agricultural land, and a cornerstone of Colorado’s recreation and tourism economies. The rail route would also dramatically increase the amount of hazardous materials traveling through Denver.

Senator Bennet has repeatedly sounded the alarm on the risks the railway poses to Colorado communities and has urged the Biden Administration to conduct a new environmental review of the project that includes its potential impacts to the Colorado River and surrounding communities. 

On Friday, August 18th, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit sided with concerned Coloradans, overruled federal approval of the project, and ordered a new environmental review of the railway.  

Please find more information on Senator Bennet's efforts to stop the project below, as well as letters of opposition from Colorado communities.