During oral arguments earlier this week, U.S. Supreme Court Justices seemed hesitant to endorse an overhaul of environmental review standards

Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities


** What's next for the Utah oil train?
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Thursday, December 12, 2024
A train travels along the Colorado River in western Colorado. The Library of Congress, Carol M. Highsmith Archive ([link removed])

Earlier this week, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, a case challenging the approval of the Uinta Basin Railway. The proposed 88-mile railway would enable as many as 350,000 barrels of oil per day from Utah's largest oil field to be shipped through Colorado. Part of the proposed route for the railway runs through a narrow canyon along the Colorado River, where a derailment or spill would be catastrophic.

The railway proposal was approved in 2021 by the federal Surface Transportation Board. Eagle County, Colorado, and a coalition of environmental groups challenged the approval, arguing that the environmental analysis failed to account for the full impacts of the railway, including the increased oil production in Utah that would be enabled by the railway, the increased risk of accidents along the railway, and the impacts of refining the oil once it reaches refineries in the southeastern U.S. Arguing on behalf of Eagle County, attorney William Jay pointed out ([link removed]) that since the railway's sole purpose is to transport oil from Utah to Gulf Coast refineries, these impacts fall well within the 'reasonably foreseeable' test for inclusion in an environmental review.

While the railway's proponents had hoped that the Supreme Court would use the case to limit future environmental reviews, the justices seemed hesitant to endorse a complete overhaul of environmental review standards. Moreover, Paul Clement, an attorney arguing on behalf of the railway proponents, failed to offer a convincing alternative ([link removed]) to the 'reasonably foreseeable' test. "By the courts taking an overly aggressive role, it’s in turn created an incentive for the agencies to do 3,000-page environmental impact statements," Justice Brett Kavanaugh commented ([link removed]) at one point. Chief Justice John Roberts seemed to agree, remarking ([link removed]) , "I have trouble seeing how this is going to work out as a practical matter." A decision in
the case is expected at the end of the Supreme Court's current term, in June 2025.


** Quick hits
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Tribes want Biden to save the Owyhee Canyonlands

ICT ([link removed])

Utah’s public lands lawsuit is ‘an existential threat’ to the Ute Indian Tribe, lawyers contend

Salt Lake Tribune ([link removed])

Arizona AG sues Saudi firm over ‘excessive’ groundwater pumping, saying it’s a public nuisance

Associated Press ([link removed])

Research challenges benefits, highlights pitfalls of mowing and spraying sagebrush

WyoFile ([link removed])

NM grants 'outstanding waters' protections to over 250 miles of rivers and streams

Source New Mexico ([link removed])

Monarch butterflies proposed for listing as a threatened species

Associated Press ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed]) | Washington Post ([link removed]) | New York Times ([link removed])

EPA offers glide path for state authority over wetlands

E&E News ([link removed])

Arctic tundra has long helped cool Earth. Now, it’s fueling warming

New York Times ([link removed]) | Inside Climate News ([link removed]) | Grist ([link removed])


** Quote of the day
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” Sometimes it doesn’t seem so concrete for people to think about carbon dioxide and methane. But these are very concrete and real changes that have been happening over the past decades. People are impacted and dealing with these changes every day of their life.”

—Susan Natali, Woodwell Climate Research Center, Grist ([link removed])


** Picture This
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@usinterior ([link removed])
Majestic and timeless, mountains have a way of captivating our imagination. They inspire us to explore, learn, connect with nature and seek a peaceful refuge.

From the towering heights of Denali, North America’s tallest peak at @denalinps ([link removed]) , to the rugged majesty of @rockynps ([link removed]) , and the rolling beauty of the Appalachian Mountains along @blueridgenps ([link removed]) , Interior preserves some of the nation’s most scenic mountainous landscapes and interprets the human stories contained within them.

Photo at Rocky Mountain National Park by Jeremy Janus

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