DENVER — Widespread opposition has developed in Colorado to federal approval allowing construction of Utah’s Uinta Basin rail line, with opponents voicing environmental concerns over the rail line that could see shipment of up to 350,000 barrels of crude oil daily, or about 10 unit oil trains.
The Denver Post reports 42 Colorado cities, 11 counties, and 20 water sanitation districts have followed the lead set by Eagle County, Colo., which voted earlier this year to pursue legal action over the Surface Transportation Board’s approval of the project [see “Colorado county plans to challenge approval …,” Trains News Wire, Feb. 2, 2022].
Eagle County’s suit in federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., filed last month, has since been consolidated with one field by the Center for Biological Diversity and other conservation groups [see “Environmental groups sue over STB approval …,” News Wire, Feb. 14, 2022]. Other governmental bodies in the state have asked Colorado U.S. Sens. Michael Bennett and John Hickenlooper to intervene.
The opponents argue that the STB’s approval failed to consider downstream impacts on Colorado, as well as the widespread impact of increasing fossil-fuel production from the Uinta Basin, which currently produces about 80,000 barrels of waxy crude per day.
Mike McKee, executive director of the Seven County Infrastructure Coalition, which has overseen the proposal to build the 85-mile rail line, told the Post he disagreed that regulators did not fully understand the environmental risks but otherwise declined comment.
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