Supreme Court hears Uinta Basin Railway case and may consider reissuing permit

On 24 JuneThe U.S. Supreme Court announced that it would review part of an appeals court decision that overturned the U.S. Surface Transportation Board's ruling. allow for the proposed Uinta Basin Railway, a railroad project that would transport waxy crude oil through Colorado and boost fuel production in eastern Utah.

The Seven County Infrastructure Coalition appealed to the Supreme Court on March 4, 2023.

The case of Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, Coloradoasks “whether the National Environmental Policy Act requires an agency to investigate environmental impacts that go beyond the immediate effects of the actions over which the agency has regulatory authority.” The highest court in the United States is deciding whether the Surface Transportation Board had to take into account the potential environmental damage caused by the cargo of waxy crude oil because it has no regulatory authority over oil production.

In a decision last yearthe U.S. Court of Appeals found that the Surface Transportation Board violated the National Environmental Policy Act by failing to fully analyze the railroad's potential harm to wildlife, waterways, and people. The federal appeals court ruled that the board's environmental permit was rushed and violated federal law. The decision stripped the railroad of the permit it needed to build it.

According to a press release from the Center for Biological DiversityThe 88-mile rail project is expected to increase oil production in Utah's Uinta Basin fivefold and transport an estimated 350,000 barrels of crude oil per day over 100 miles through Colorado's Rocky Mountains before reaching refineries on the Gulf Coast. The route to the coast includes Kremmling, Winter Park and passes through Gore and Byers Canyons.

Currently, trucks are the only way to transport materials in and out of the area..

Residents across the state have voiced their concerns loudly about a train carrying waxy crude oil along the Fraser and Colorado Rivers, citing the environmental risk of a derailment.

In 2023, Grand County commissioners officially rejected the railroad unless certain environmental protection measures were followed. Both U.S. Senator Michael Bennet and U.S. Representative Joe Neguse opposed the project, saying an oil spill in the headwaters of the Colorado River would have catastrophic consequences.

Supporters of the project say it will bring new businesses to the area, provide an economic boost and create new jobs. The Seven County Infrastructure Coalition has said the railroad will increase safety on highways by reducing dangerous oil tankers. Utah state officials have also supported the project..

If the Supreme Court were to overturn the previous decision, the railroad would have to, among other things, conduct an additional analysis of the dangers an oil spill poses to endangered fish in the Colorado River and the increased risk of wildfires resulting from oil train accidents.

In addition, new permits would be required from the Surface Transportation Board, which regulates railroad service, and the U.S. Forest Service because the rail line would be built across 12 miles of trackless national forest, according to the Center for Biological Diversity.

The Supreme Court will begin hearing the case in October.