Congress blocks limestone quarry expansion near Colorado hot springs
S. 5101 — Glenwood Hot Springs Protection Act · Filed by Michael Bennet (D-CO) · 1 cosponsor · Introduced Jul 23, 2026 · Hearing held
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What it does
This bill prohibits the Secretary of the Interior from approving any expansion of the Mid-Continent Limestone Quarry near Glenwood Springs, Colorado. It blocks new mining permits or mineral-sales contracts for limestone extraction on four specific parcels of federal land managed by the Bureau of Land Management in Garfield County, Colorado.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole operative mechanism is a prohibition on federal permit approval for limestone quarry expansion in a specific geographic area. It is a straightforward environmental/land-use protection measure with no hidden riders or complex cross-references.
What the text implies
- The prohibition applies only to federal land managed by BLM; private land within or adjacent to the quarry area is not restricted, potentially limiting the bill's protective scope.
- The bill does not address existing mining operations on the named parcels—only expansion—so current extraction may continue at present levels.
- No environmental-impact study, public-comment period, or administrative process is mandated; the prohibition is absolute and statutory, bypassing normal permitting review.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The bill protects a local natural resource (Glenwood Hot Springs) and surrounding land from industrial expansion by blocking federal permits. Ordinary citizens in the area gain environmental protection and preservation of a recreational/thermal resource; the restriction falls on a private mining operator seeking to expand, not on citizens' rights or remedies.
Named in the bill
Secretary of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Mid-Continent Limestone Quarry, Glenwood Hot Springs, Garfield County, Colorado, Materials Act of 1947, Surface Resources Act of 1955
Where it stands
1 cosponsor: 1 Democrats.
- Jul 23, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- Jul 23, 2026 — Referred to Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources”
- Sep 16, 2026 — Hearing held · Congress.gov: “Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Hearings held”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (1,146 characters) on Sep 18, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 14,342 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-09-18.
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