Supreme Court to hear Uinta crude-by-rail case in December

The U.S. Supreme Court on Dec. 10 will hear oral arguments over whether the Surface Transportation Board properly followed the National Environmental Policy Act when it authorized the proposed 88-mile Uinta Basin Railway, according to a news report.

The rail line in northeastern Utah would be used to support crude-oil rail shipments through western Colorado and to the Gulf Coast. In June, The Supreme Court agreed to consider an appeal from proponents of the project, who challenged part of an appellate court decision that vacated the STB's permit approval for the project, The Daily Sentinel of Grand Junction, Colorado, reported this week.

The appellate court sent the matter back to the STB for further consideration based on its findings.

The Seven County Infrastructure Coalition in Utah and the Uinta Basin Railway LLC asked the high court to review part of the 2023 ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. That part involves the finding that STB failed to analyze the project’s environmental impacts, including oil refining impacts on Gulf Coast communities.