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SALT LAKE CITY — Critics of a proposed 85-mile railway line in the Uinta Basin to ship waxy crude to the Gulf Coast detailed their opposition Tuesday in an advance of a Supreme Court hearing next week.
Representatives from the Center for Biological Diversity, Earthjustice and the Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment excoriated "MAGA justices" on the nation's highest court for taking up the case.
"If anybody needs to be messing with (the National Environmental Protection Act), it's Congress, not the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is a terrible body to be tinkering with this statute for anybody's reasons, because, among other things, it doesn't know what it's doing, and this kind of legal analysis to solve policy problems is never a good idea," said Sam Sanker, senior vice president for programs with Earthjustice. "So that's why you know whatever the debate is, it shouldn't be happening in front of nine justices who know basically know nothing about railways, environmental impacts or climate change."
The proposed railway by the Seven County Infrastructure Coalition is being sought as a way to connect eastern Utah to the national rail network to haul the oil out of state.
It would travel east of Soldier Summit in Wasatch County to convey oil to other markets and connect to existing railways in Colorado.
The railway is touted as a financial boost for the rural area of Utah, which is constrained on ways to get its oil to market.
But in August 2023, an appellate court rejected a decision by the Surface Transportation Board that ruled the project could move forward.
Backers of the proposed railway sued to overturn the lower court's decision. At the time, Utah Rep. John Curtis blamed litigation that delays energy projects in their tracks.
"Utahns are deeply frustrated with the unnecessary barriers that energy projects face for approval. Litigious groups have weaponized (the National Environmental Protection Act ) to endlessly delay energy projects like oil, gas, wind, solar, nuclear, etc.," Curtis said. "I look forward to the Supreme Court considering the intended scope of this law, and I will continue to advocate in Congress for permitting reform to unlock our affordable, reliable, and clean resources."
Proponents say a favorable Supreme Court ruling could set a new legal standard for a variety of energy projects across the nation, not just in Utah.
"We are optimistic that the Supreme Court will recognize the importance of this project for our community and the broader state economy," Keith Heaton, director of the Seven County Infrastructure Coalition, told the Deseret News. "The railway is not just about moving goods; it's about securing a prosperous, sustainable future for our communities."
Heaton said Tuesday the court is simply looking at the possibility of putting up some guardrails on the National Environmental Protection Act to provide more clarity.
These projects are getting bogged down with bureaucratic tape, he added.
"For a long time, oil and gas has been the backbone of the economy in the Uinta Basin and much of eastern Utah. No single industry, however, can be sustainable or reliable for future generations," he said. "This will give transportation options that are so important for our economy to diversify."
But Brian Moench, president of Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment, said that so-called "prosperous future" for the basin comes at the incredible public health cost due to exposure to air pollution.
The basin already struggles with a wintertime ozone problem.
Moench stressed that the adverse impacts to public health from air pollution are well documented and as Wasatch Front emissions dominate the public's attention, the Uinta Basin has incredibly significant problems due to ozone from oil and gas development.
"I just want to emphasize air pollution is deadly. It kills people. It causes a wide range of diseases every bit as extensive as what you'd expect from smoking cigarettes," Moench said.
