The Supreme Court is taking up one of several issues brought up in our Uinta Basin Railway case

In August of 2023, an Appeals Court sided with UPHE and other environmental groups and decided to throw out the permit granted for the Uinta Basin Railway. Shortly after the permit was thrown out, Estonian state-owned oil shale company Enefit American Oil abandoned its lease to mine oil shale on federal public land in northeastern Utah’s Uinta Basin.

“This decision is a win for public health and the environment. The court ruled the Surface Transportation Board conducted an environmental review that failed to meet the requirements of the law. The people of Utah can breathe a sigh of relief. Hopefully, this is the beginning of the end for the Uinta Basin Railway,” UPHE’s executive director said of the Appeals Court decision. 

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. Proponents of the railway failed to acknowledge the consequences that increase in extraction poses. 

Now, The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case that could have major implications for the proposed 88-mile Uinta Basin Railway, a project we have strongly opposed.

This current configuration of The Supreme Court hasn’t been strong on environmental issues, but our case against the Uinta Basin Railway has many merits of why the permit shouldn’t be granted and we are hopeful they will hold up.  

The DC Circuit found that the environmental review for the permit failed to thoroughly assess the railway’s impacts on future oil development, potential rail accidents, wildfires, and water pollution. This ruling was based on the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and other environmental statutes.

Bloomberg Law coverage on the lawsuit update.

Lawsuit History:

Forest Service pulls permit for Uinta Basin Railway – Jan. 2024
Enefit American Oil Abandons Lease to Mine Oil Shale in Utah’s Uinta Basin – Sept. 2023
Appeals Court Throws Out Permit for Utah’s Uinta Basin Railway – Aug. 2023
UPHE on letter to U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg opposing Uinta Basin Railway – April 2023