Not so fast: Uinta Basin Railway plan stalled

On August 18, 2023, in a 66-page opinion, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued a setback to the Uinta Basin Railway’s plan to transport billions of gallons of crude oil from Utah through Colorado along the Colorado River. In the case brought by Eagle County and 5 environmental groups, the Court found that the Surface Transportation Board failed to take “the requisite ‘hard look’ at all of the environmental impacts of the Railway….The Board failed to weigh the Project’s uncertain financial viability and the full potential for environmental harm against the transportation benefits it identified.” The Court remanded the matter to the Surface Transportation Board. Earlier Senator Bennet and Representative Neguse had written letters to the Environmental Protection Agency and the US Forest Service critical of the project.

CWF applauds the Court’s order as CWF had joined onto letters setting forth the untenable risks along the Colorado River in the event of a mishap.