… The [U.S. Supreme Court] justices heard oral arguments over the controversial stretch of track that would connect the remote Uinta Basin in northeastern Utah to national rail lines, allowing more waxy crude from one of the nation’s largest oil fields to be transported to refineries on the Gulf Coast. On its surface, the case is about the 88-mile rail line, but it has also become a proxy battle over how far federal agencies should go in assessing the environmental impact of highways, pipelines and other projects before deciding whether to approve them.  … Five environmental groups and the county that is home to Vail, Colorado, argue that [the National Environmental Policy Act] calls for a more holistic review, saying the rail project could have devastating impacts on local habitats, could lead to oil spills in the Colorado River and would quintuple oil production, worsening climate change and pollution near refineries in the South.

Related articles:

• E&E News by POLITICO: Supreme Court seeks middle ground on NEPA limits
• The Associated Press: Supreme Court leans toward Utah oil railway plan, but may not make broad environmental ruling
• Colorado Newsline: How the Supreme Court viewed Colorado’s challenge to a Utah oil railroad — and what could be next
• The Colorado Sun: Uinta Basin Railway gets U.S. Supreme Court review, but the 88-miles of track are just a footnote in a much bigger fight