Uinta Basin Railway EIS
The Draft Environmental impact statement for the Uinta Basin Railway is open for public comment and virtual public meetings. Click here to view the Draft EIS. This Oil Train is a boondoggle and a waste of money and will damage our environment. There will be several meetings held by the surface transportation board (register for meeting here). Information about the railway will be presented and public comments will be taken. You can comment or just listen. To submit a written comment click here.
Fueled by nearly $28 million in public funds, the proposed Uinta Basin Railway is being pushed full steam ahead. Proponents claim the railway would cause oil extraction in Utah’s Uinta Basin to increase by between 130,000 to 350,000 barrels of oil per day—a spike of up to four times current levels in the basin or roughly 2.6 percent of total U.S. crude oil production. Construction of the 85-mile railway would have major impacts in and of itself.
However, the frenzy of new drilling and fracking it would purportedly induce would be even more catastrophic for the region’s air, water, wildlife and wildlands, and would cause a massive new release of greenhouse gases, exacerbating the ongoing climate crisis.
Public involvement is crucial please consider joining a meeting. This project will cost people dearly in wasted money, health and climate devastation.
Submitting Comments
Comments can be submitted during the 45-day public comment period, including at six online public meetings to be held during the comment period.
- Electronically: To submit comments electronically click here.
- In Person (Virtually): To submit comments orally, please register to attend and speak at any of the six public meetings OEA will host. You may register by clicking here. OEA will provide additional meeting information and dial-in instructions after registration.
- Via Mail: To submit written comments by mail use the following address:
Joshua Wayland, PhD
Surface Transportation Board
c/o ICF
9300 Lee Highway
Fairfax, VA 22031
Attention: Environmental filing, Docket No. FD 36284
Please visit the Board-sponsored project website at www.uintabasinrailwayeis.com for project-related updates, documents, instructions on how to submit comments electronically, by mail, or at an online public meeting, and to register for an upcoming online public meeting.
Thank you for your interest in the Board’s environmental review process for the dirty Uinta Basin Railway.