The sight of a passenger train or coal train rumbling through the west end of the Moffat Tunnel at Winter Park Resort is a welcome sight for many.

Built in 1927 to cut through the Continental Divide, the Moffat Tunnel is a historic achievement. However, the tunnel hasn’t been without controversy due to environmental impacts that continue today.

According to Grand County Water Quality Manager Katherine Morris, polluted discharge from the Moffat Tunnel has adversely impacted the Fraser River.

The Grand County water quality team recently wrote two letters to the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment, outlining its concerns with violations by Union Pacific Railroad, which manages the tunnel.

During a Grand County Board of Commissioners meeting March 11, Morris explained that polluted water from the tunnel enters the nearby Fraser River, which is a main tributary of the Colorado River. This ongoing problem began after the tunnel was completed, and Grand County government began advocating to fix the problem nearly two decades ago.

History of Moffat Tunnel violations

In the early 2000s, residents and governmental officials raised alarm about pollutants and increased turbidity (or clarity issues) in the Fraser River when water was discharged from the tunnel.

The tunnel bores through James Peak. Groundwater from cracks in the mountain rock seeps into the tunnel, and that water needs a way out. Coal dust, heavy metals and other particulate matter can travel into the Fraser River through the runoff.

At the time, a water treatment plant existed on the east portal of the tunnel but not on the west portal at Winter Park. People questioned why there was no treatment plant to protect Grand County, home to the headwaters of the Colorado River. Over the years, Union Pacific received fines and a cease-and-desist order.

The railroad finally built a treatment plant in 2017, but issues have continued — even worsened in some cases, Morris said.

A water centrifuge at the plant is designed to separate solids from the water, creating a sludge-like “centrifuge cake” that is put in a drum and disposed of in Utah. (This disposal has raised its own concerns.) The remaining water is discharged into the river.

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Morris believes the plant is not properly filtering the discharge during the centrifuge process, so pollutants still enter the river.

In fact, a power failure in July 2023 resulted in “400,000 gallons of untreated groundwater and industrial wastewater” entering the Fraser River, according to a notice of violation by the state department of Public Health & Environment. 

Morris told commissioners that Union Pacific was fined $35,000. However, she feels the railroad should be fined the maximum penalty, which could be up to around $120,000 per day during the violation.

The environmental group Grand County Learning by Doing has been monitoring the river below the Moffat Tunnel discharge site. Samples showed that populations of macroinvertebrate — small aquatic species such as snails and insects that are critical to the overall health of the river’s ecosystem — “are actually worse off” since the plant was constructed in 2017, Morris said.

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Morris and the commissioners toured the treatment plant in February, when they observed several areas that untreated water could enter the river. In January, turbid waters were observed after discharge from the tunnel.

“We don’t want to say, ‘Take the plant out,’ because it was better before. But on the other hand, some of the evidence is we haven’t achieved the goals desired,” Commissioner Randy George said.

What can Grand County do?

Morris explained to commissioners that Grand County Water Quality and the Northwest Colorado Council of Governments have sent letters outlining their concerns and what mitigation they would like to see.

In addition to increased fines for violations, Morris and others requested that Union Pacific would organize a supplemental environmental project in collaboration with Learning by Doing “to create significant environmental improvements in the Fraser River.”

Lastly, the groups requested that Union Pacific begin its permit renewal process with the state’s water quality division. This renewal process, which lays out monitoring and safety requirements, would provide a public comment period and opportunity for change. The process has been delayed since 2023.

According to Morris, the permit department is very behind; other permits haven’t been renewed in 10 years.

Morris said the groups plan to send another letter to the department of Public Health & Environment’s water quality division. She asked the commissioners to sign the letter, which the board said it would review.

While Morris doesn’t expect the polluted discharge to stop anytime soon, she said it’s imperative to stay on top of the issue.

The commissioners thanked Morris for her work.

“I appreciate that you’re working diligently to try to prevent these discharges into the Fraser River,” George said. “This is an item of significant concern for all of us.”

This story is from SkyHiNews.com