Eastern Utah wants an oil railroad. Nation's highest court will decide how feds should judge its environmental impact.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Hat tip, SCOTUSblog

WHAT WE'RE READING
The morning read for Thursday, Oct. 31

By Ellena Erskine
on Oct 31, 2024 at 10:16 am

Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles and commentary related to the Supreme Court. Here’s the Thursday morning read:

• Eastern Utah wants an oil railroad. The nation’s highest court will decide how feds should judge its environmental impacts. (Anastasia Hufham, The Salt Lake Tribune)

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Recommended Citation: Ellena Erskine, The morning read for Thursday, Oct. 31, SCOTUSblog (Oct. 31, 2024, 10:16 AM), https://www.scotusblog.com/2024/10/the-morning-read-for-thursday-oct-31/

Eastern Utah wants an oil railroad. The nation’s highest court will decide how feds should judge its environmental impacts.
The Uinta Basin Railway, if built, could quintuple oil exports from eastern Utah.


(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) An oil derrick is seen on state trust land within the Uintah and Ouray Reservation in Ballard on Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. The U.S. Supreme Court will soon weigh in on the environmental impacts of the proposed Uinta Basin Railway, which could quintuple oil experts from the region.

By Anastasia Hufham | Oct. 31, 2024, 8:00 a.m.

A group of eastern Utah counties wants to change the way federal agencies evaluate the environmental impacts of development — starting with an 88-mile railroad that would connect their remote, oil-rich corner of the state to the nation’s broader rail network.

Soon, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear what the counties and their critics have to say.

Eagle County, Colo. and conservation groups filed new arguments this month against an appeal by Utah’s Seven County Infrastructure Coalition. The Supreme Court announced that it will hear arguments on Dec. 10.

The county coalition’s argument follows a lower appeals court’s disapproval last year of the permit granted to build the Uinta Basin Railway, which would make it easier for Utah’s fossil fuels to reach refineries across the country. If built, the railroad could quintuple the region’s exports, according to a 2021 environmental review.

The federal Surface Transportation Board, which regulates interstate rail transportation, [link:https://www.stb.gov/news-communications/latest-news/pr-21-51/] for the railway in 2021. It generally limited its review to areas surrounding the railway’s route and how a range of impacts could be mitigated.

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Colorado AG weighs formal role as Supreme Court reviews oil-train case
Proposed Uinta Basin rail project in Utah could result in surge of hazardous shipments along Colorado River

By: David O. Williams - August 6, 2024 1:40 pm


The Colorado River flows through Ruby and Horsethief canyons area near Mack, June 9, 2023. The railroad is at left. (William Woody for Colorado Newsline)

Colorado’s attorney general recently left open the possibility he will take a formal role in a case before the U.S. Supreme Court to help block a proposal that would send a massive surge of oil trains along the Colorado River.

Attorney General Phil Weiser last week expressed disappointment that the court in June agreed to review Eagle County’s 2023 appellate court win, which derailed the proposed Uinta Basin Railway project in Utah. The project would likely result in a dramatic increase in hazardous oil shipments traveling through the Colorado mountains and Denver toward Gulf Coast refineries.

“The proposed plan to run two-mile-long trains filled with hundreds of thousands of barrels of waxy crude oil along the Colorado River daily poses an extreme risk to this critical water source and the communities, industries, and farmers that rely on it,” Weiser wrote in an email statement to Colorado Newsline. “This proposal was rightfully tossed out by an appellate court. I am presently considering all options to protect the Colorado River — that includes weighing in with the U.S. Supreme Court as it reviews the case.”

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit last year ruled the U.S. Surface Transportation Board, which is the primary federal regulatory agency overseeing U.S. rail projects, erred under the National Environmental Policy Act and ordered the agency to fix significant problems with the proposed 88-mile rail spur’s environmental impact statement.

The appeals court found the STB failed to properly weigh both the upstream and downstream impacts of oil production, including accident data, downline fire risks and the impact to endangered fish from predicted oil spills in the Colorado River.

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David O. Williams
David O. Williams is an award-winning freelance journalist based in EagleVail, Colorado. His work has appeared in more than 75 publications around the world and he owns and operates RealVail.com.

MORE FROM AUTHOR

Sat Jun 29, 2024: Gee, What Next? SCOTUS To Consider Appeal Of Decision Blocking Utah Oil Trains Along Colorado River

Wed Apr 10, 2024: Utah, trade groups ask Supreme Court to review oil rail line

Mon Feb 5, 2024: Group wants to use taxpayer money to bring Utah oil railroad controversy to the Supreme Court

Tue Aug 29, 2023: After Court Rejects Approval, What's Next For Uinta Basin Railway?

Sat Aug 19, 2023: Appeals court strikes down Utah oil railroad approval, siding with environmentalists

Sun Jul 30, 2023: Moffat Tunnel lease could become part of fight over Uinta Basin Railway

Sat Mar 11, 2023: Oh, Good Idea! Let's Run Oil Trains For More Than 100 Miles Along The Colorado River!

[pwb]

1. My State has trains running straight through it

New York. It crosses and runs along many water ways.
Thick shit oil from Canada.
I always worry about the old bridges it crosses.
Rails in New York have been in place along the Hudson since they were laid.
I wish them luck trying to stop it.