"A proposed Utah railway would quadruple the Uinta Basin’s oil production if built. Colorado and environmentalists have fought the project, arguing its impacts would extend far beyond Utah’s own borders."
"A legal fight over an 88-mile proposed railway in Utah has set the stage for the U.S. Supreme Court to decide how federal agencies evaluate the environmental impacts of projects requiring their approval, a decision with the potential to drastically shift how projects are permitted across the nation.
The Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments in the case, Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, on Tuesday, Dec. 10. It’s the latest development following a U.S. Court of Appeals decision last year that overturned a federal agency’s approval of the railway after a lawsuit from environmental groups and a Colorado county along the project’s path. The appeals court found that the review failed to evaluate the downstream impacts of the project.
A coalition of seven Utah counties appealed that decision, and the Supreme Court will now decide how far federal agencies can evaluate the impacts of a project under the National Environmental Policy Act—in this case, the immediate area of an 88-mile railway or beyond."
Wyatt Myskow reports for Inside Climate News December 9, 2024.
SEE ALSO:
"The Oil Railway That Launched A Supreme Court NEPA War" (E&E News)
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