In a February work session between the Garfield County BOCC and the New Castle Town Council, the town representatives expressed concerns about possible derailments due to an increase of oil trains and the speed at which trains roll through town.
Category: Environment
Aspen Journalism’s “Connie Harvey Environment Desk” is named in honor of the longtime Aspen environmentalist.
Posted inLocal Public Data
X Games bus ridership rebounds but still lagging pre-COVID years
The new operator of Winter X Games is not releasing estimated attendance totals from last month’s event, although other data indicates that crowds were up from last year but still lagging the massive numbers seen during the pre-COVID-19 years.
Posted inEnvironment
Dealing with methane escaping from Coal Basin’s shuttered mines sparks debate
The biggest hurdle proponents of the Coal Basin methane project might face may not be the layers of bureaucracy they will have to navigate, but convincing Redstone residents that doing something is better than doing nothing.
Posted inEnvironment
Uinta Basin Railway opposition unites Colorado towns, Utah backcountry residents
“I think it’s communities like ours that are impacted by things like this because we’re just common people. We don’t have hundreds of thousands of dollars to fight the government and the big oil companies, so they know they can just run it right over the top of us and there’s really nothing we can do.”
Posted inLand Use
Lift One Corridor hotel developers say they are working together
How well-coordinated the construction sequencing would be between the new developer and the neighboring Lift One Lodge has been an open question. But the parties say they have made significant progress since September.
Posted inEnvironment
Plan for amenities at Snowmass Village wetlands stirs conversation on impact 
Proposals for the multiphase project have included ideas for a recreational beach, a floating dock for gatherings, steppingstones, walking planks, a boardwalk and a bridge through the wetlands to connect the Seven Star Trail to Sky Mountain Park, plus a beach on one edge of the pond
Posted inOn Aspen Journalism
Aspen Journalism wins six awards in annual Colorado Press Association contest
Each of Aspen Journalism’s reporters and editors, as well as two freelance journalists, took home first-place awards.
Posted inEnvironment
Uinta Basin Railway faces obstacles
The UBR, approved by the Federal Surface Transportation Board in late 2021, would provide enough transportation capacity to quadruple oil production in the Uinta Basin at a time when scientists around the world are sounding an alarm over CO2 emissions.
Posted inEnvironment
Parking reservations, not permit system, eyed as solution to Marble’s OHV woes
A stakeholder group has been working to formulate “consensus-based recommendations” on management strategies that have a high probability of getting the support needed from government agencies to be enacted.
Posted inLocal Public Data
Compost hits record high in 2021 at Pitkin County landfill
In 2021, the Pitkin County landfill composted 14,295 tons of waste, the highest amount recorded since 2015, according to Pitkin County Solid Waste Center data shared with Aspen Journalism. It’s a 19.5% increase from 2020’s 11,961 tons and an 11.7% increase from 2019’s 12,799 tons, the previous record. The amount of composted waste increased by 41.5% between 2015 and 2021.