Opposition to Uinta Basin Oil Trains in Colorado

If completed, the proposed Uinta Basin Railway Project would ship up to 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 the Denver metro area.

Michael has repeatedly sounded the alarm on the risks the railway poses to Colorado communities and has urged the Biden Administration to conduct new environmental reviews of the project that include its potential impacts to the Colorado River and surrounding communities. 

In August 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. In June 2024, the Supreme Court announced they would review this decision.

Proposed oil loadout expansions

While plans to construct a new railway have stalled, oil producers in Utah continue to look for ways to increase shipments out of the Uinta Basin. They have proposed expansions of three oil loadout facilities in Utah, which would enable the shipment of nearly 75% of the oil proposed to be transported alongside the Colorado River if the Uinta Basin Railway were to be completed. 

Please find more information on Michael’s efforts to stop the Uinta Railway project and Utah oil loadout expansions below, as well as letters of opposition from Colorado communities.