The US Supreme Court ruled 8-0 to narrow the scope of environmental reviews conducted as part of National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requirements. The decision in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, Colo., centered on the proposed 88-mile Uinta Basin Railway (UBR), designed to move crude oil from the basin to refineries in northeast Utah.
In 2023, the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit reversed a 2021 decision by the Surface Transportation Board (STB) approving the rail project. The appeals court ruled that the agency had failed to analyze the environmental effects that resulting increased drilling would have and also fell short in considering the effects of a potential oil spill from the train on wildlife and local communities.
Supporters of the project—including the plaintiff, which was also the project’s developer—maintained that such considerations lied outside STB’s authority and asked the Supreme Court to clarify NEPA’s power and limits. The court’s ruling effectively narrowed the scope of NEPA reviews by excluding the need to consider potential effects stemming from projects upstream or downstream of the project being considered.
Advocates for the change note that it will likely make it easier for hydrocarbon pipeline and electric transmission projects, among others, to gain regulatory approval. Detractors have noted what they describe as an increased likelihood of environmental harm as a result of the ruling.
Uinta crude is low sulfur and has an 36-42° API gravity, but its waxy nature prevents it from being shipped through pipelines. Instead, it must be heated to a fully liquid state and shipped by a rail line such as UBR (OGJ Online, June 5, 2023).
