Uinta Basin Railway controversy heads to the Supreme Court
The highest court in the land will soon review a proposed oil railroad in Utah. The 88-mile Uinta Basin Railway would connect remote, oil-rich eastern Utah to the broader rail network, including existing rail along the Colorado River — making it easier for Utah’s fossil fuels to reach refineries on the Gulf Coast. … In August, a U.S. Appeals Court revoked approval for the project, finding that the federal Surface Transportation Board did not sufficiently analyze the project’s environmental impacts. … Colorado’s elected representatives fear that the project carries dire safety risks for communities along the Colorado River. “Last year, a federal court agreed with Coloradans that the approval process for the Uinta Basin Railway had been gravely insufficient, and did not properly account for the project’s full risks,” said U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet in a January statement. “A derailment along the headwaters of the Colorado River could have catastrophic effects for Colorado’s communities, water, and environment.”