KVNF's prior reporting on this issue.
Federal and state environmental agencies are continuing cleanup and assessment efforts along the Gunnison River following last week’s freight train derailment near Whitewater, where two Union Pacific locomotives and several coal cars tipped into the water after running into a large boulder that had landed on the tracks. The accident released an estimated 8,620 gallons of diesel fuel into the Gunnison river and along its banks, according to updated EPA incident reports and interviews conducted by KVNF.
The Environmental Protection Agency mobilized on December 3 to oversee the response and coordinate with the Bureau of Land Management, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, and other federal and state trustees. Cleanup contractors working for Union Pacific are under federal oversight as the initial phase of containment and remediation continues.
Containment and absorbent booms now span multiple points along the river. Crews first placed boom at the derailment site, then added additional containment about 150 yards downstream. As the sheen moved through the canyon, response teams installed more booms at the Highway 141 bridge in Whitewater, roughly six miles below the site, and again at the Redlands Dam boat launch in Grand Junction, around seventeen miles downstream. These locations were selected to intercept any floating fuel before it can spread farther.
Union Pacific in coordination with several agencies are completing detailed shoreline assessments to determine how much oil reached the banks and which areas may require additional cleanup. Craig Myers, Response Lead and On Scene Coordinator with EPA Region 8 Emergency Management Branch, said the work involves documenting the different shoreline types—grasses, overhanging vegetation, sandy edges—and noting how each responded to oiling. That assessment will shape the next stage of remediation and help ensure cleanup is effective without causing unnecessary additional harm.
Early in the response, a gray sheen was observed at the intake for the Persigo Wastewater Treatment Plant on the Colorado River in West Grand Junction. According to incident reports, sampling teams reached the site quickly. By the following morning, no sheen was present.
While responders now have a clearer picture of what was released, the long-term environmental impact remains uncertain. Factors such as season, shoreline conditions, and the behavior of the fuel once it entered the river all play a role. EPA officials say those questions will not be fully answered until the ongoing assessment is complete.
For now, EPA remains the lead agency, but oversight is expected to transition to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment once the bulk of fuel removal and shoreline evaluation is finished. Cleanup crews continue to recover oil-water mixtures and track any changes in the river.
KVNF will continue following developments as new assessment results become available and long-term cleanup decisions take shape.
Full statement from EPA
On December 2, 2025, two locomotives derailed into the Gunnison River along with three additional rail cars. At the time of the incident, diesel and lubricating oil released into the Gunnison River, and coal was spilled on the banks of the river. Union Pacific began immediate response operations and containment measures.
The EPA mobilized to the site on December 3rd to oversee Union Pacific's cleanup operations and to coordinate efforts with federal and state entities, including the US Bureau of Land Management, US Fish and Wildlife Service, and CO Parks and Wildlife.
In response, containment and absorbant booms have been strategically placed and are being maintained at several key locations: the derailment area, 150 yards downstream, approximately 6 miles downstream at the Highway 141 Bridge in Whitewater (6.5 miles downstream), and at the Redlands Dam Boat Launch in Grand Junction (17 miles downstream).
Ongoing assessments of the shoreline and surface water sampling are being coordinated by Union Pacific in collaboration with the US Bureau of Land Management, US Fish and Wildlife Service, and other state and federal trustees.
Approximately 500 gallons of fuel was removed from the locomotive fuel tanks, meaning that approximately 8,620 gallons of fuel was likely released to the river and its shoreline. An additional 1,000 gallons of oil and oil water mixture has since been recovered. Additional oil recovery is continuing, as is a more methodical assessment of the shoreline impacts. Additional cleanup based on this assessment is being coordinated with the US Bureau of Land Management and US Fish and Wildlife Service.
Although the EPA departed the site on December 7, it continues to coordinate and oversee cleanup operations remotely.
Statement from Union Pacific
KVNF reached out to Union Pacific for details on the environmental impact and clean-up efforts. They offered the following statement.
Union Pacific has removed the damaged locomotives from the river, and most heavy equipment has been cleared from the derailment site near Whitewater, Colorado. Union Pacific continues to work closely with officials to remediate spilled coal and fuel.
