Utah
U.S. Supreme Court hears Uinta Basin Railway case and challenge to major environmental law
SALT LAKE CITY — The justices of the U.S. Supreme Court considered whether to rein in a major environmental law in a case involving 88-miles of a proposed railway being developed in eastern Utah.
On Tuesday, the nation’s top court heard arguments in the case brought by the Seven County Infrastructure Coalition in Utah against Eagle County, Colo., and a coalition of environmental groups who challenged the Uinta Basin Railway project.
“This is a very important moment for us for those of us that care about breathing clean air and drinking clean water,” said Deeda Seed of the Center for Biological Diversity, one of the plaintiffs in the legal challenge against the railroad project.
The railway would be built in Utah southest of Roosevelt and stretching toward Soldier Summit. It’s designed to connect the Uintah Basin’s oil fields to Gulf Coast states for processing. When completed, the railway is expected to lead to an expansion of eastern Utah’s fossil fuel and energy development economy.
But Eagle County, Colo., and a coalition of environmental groups challenged the project and its impacts, taking the case to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, which sided with them and ruled that not enough consideration was given by federal agencies to the impacts of communities and the environment down the line. The Seven County Infrastructure Coalition, which represents the Utah counties that want the rail line built, appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court who agreed to hear the case.
“What we’re saying is that you need to look at all of the environmental harm and that frankly the harm to the Colorado River corridor needs to be included,” Seed told FOX 13 News in an interview on Tuesday following the arguments. “And the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with us.”
The case appears to be a vehicle for a challenge to the National Environmental Protection Act and how far it can go. Paul Clement, the attorney for the Seven County Infrastructure Coalition, urged the Court to set limits.
“It is designed to inform government decision making, not paralyze it,” he told the Court.
The justices peppered him with questions centered around where to draw the line. Justice Sonia Sotomayor bluntly told him: “You want absolute rules that make no sense.”
“With respect, I guess you’ll decide whether they make sense,” Clement replied.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh noted various federal agencies involved and “so many different environmental checks are in place on land, air, water, pollution.”
“What is NEPA adding to the substantive statutes, and how should that affect how we think about NEPA in terms of what the judicial role is with respect to enforcing NEPA?” he asked.
“As it’s currently applied in the D.C. Circuit and the Ninth Circuit, NEPA is adding a juicy litigation target for project opponents,” Clement answered.
Obviously, attorneys for Eagle County and the environmental groups disagreed.
“The impacts at issue here are reasonably foreseeable consequences of this $2 billion railway project whose entire rationale is to transport crude oil,” said their attorney, William Jay, who urged the Court to consider the broader impacts beyond an 88-mile rail line project, including oil spills and wildfires.
Utah’s Republican political leaders and the Ute Tribe are supporting the Uinta Basin Railway. The tribe has accused “Colorado elites” of threatening its economy and safety with the legal challenge.
Governor Spencer Cox “fully supports the construction of the Uinta Basin Railway, a critical infrastructure project that will help restore America’s energy independence while delivering significant economic benefits to rural Utah. Requiring agencies to engage in speculative analysis of distant downstream impacts, as the D.C. Circuit Court has done, sets a dangerous precedent that jeopardizes energy-related projects nationwide,” his office said in a statement to FOX 13 News on Tuesday.
Utah has pushed for expansion of energy development statewide, including more oil and gas production.
“We’ll always fight for energy independence and stand up for rural jobs. We hope the Court makes the right decision,” House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, said in a statement to FOX 13 News.
Seed said she was worried about the impact of the Court’s decision on NEPA as well as the incoming Trump administration’s push for deregulation on projects that carry environmental sensitivities.
“We’re worried because the National Environmental Policy Act is a bedrock environmental law that protects the public interest against a rampaging industry that wants to build whatever it wants wherever it wants without consequence,” she said.
The justices are expected to issue a ruling in the case next year.
This article is published through the Colorado River Collaborative, a solutions journalism initiative supported by the Janet Quinney Lawson Institute for Land, Water, and Air at Utah State University. See all of our stories about how Utahns are impacted by the Colorado River at greatsaltlakenews.org/coloradoriver
Utah
‘2.5 minutes of terror’: Passengers sue Delta, alleging crew flew into dangerous weather despite warnings, injuring dozens
Twenty passengers allege the airline ignored repeated weather warnings before the flight hit severe turbulence that sent dozens of people to hospitals
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) A Delta airplane travels down the runway at Salt Lake City International Airport in Salt Lake City last March. Passengers on a Delta flight last July are suing the airline over injuries suffered because of violent turbulence.
SALT LAKE CITY — The Environmental Protection Agency awarded Utah and Salt Lake County a total of $3.5 million in grants to assess potentially polluted properties for eventual cleanup and redevelopment.
The agency announced a $2 million grant to Utah’s Department of Environmental Quality and $1.5 million to Salt Lake County to conduct environmental assessments and inventory brownfield sites for cleanup. Brownfields are sites that may be difficult to redevelop or expand because of “the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant or contaminant,” according to the agency.
“These brownfields grants will help Utah communities clean up contaminated sites and unlock opportunities for redevelopment and investment,” EPA Regional Administrator Cyrus Western said in a news release announcing the grants earlier this week. “By transforming underused properties into community assets, EPA is helping create healthier neighborhoods and stronger local economies.”
The two grants awarded to Utah and Salt Lake County are among more than $248 million awarded to nearly 200 communities nationwide for brownfield assessment and cleanup. Utah’s Department of Environmental Quality plans to focus the resources on several areas in Ogden, Heber City and Fillmore, among others, according to Bill Rees, who leads Utah’s brownfield cleanup program.
“What we do is work to secure the funding and then begin to reach out to our communities across the state, say, ‘Listen, there’s opportunity to do some assessment work in your community if you’re interested,’ and then work with our rural partners, work with our urban partners to see if there are sites that will fit that bill,” he told KSL.
The state has received similar grants in the past, and Rees said the money can help local governments determine what to do with ailing properties such as old schools, hospitals or private property that have gone to waste.
“Is there asbestos in it, or is there hazardous material in it? Or could there be something that’s impacting the soil or the groundwater, and a policymaker needs to make a decision?” asked Rees. “Knowledge allows you to make good decisions.”
The $1.5 million awarded to Salt Lake County is the largest brownfields assessment grant the county has ever received, according to a county press release.
“This grant is a real win for our communities,” said Mayor Jenny Wilson. “This funding will let us do vital environmental work on a larger scale and in more neighborhoods. It reflects exactly the kind of partnership between local and federal government that gets results for residents.”
The county grant funds will be used to help create cleanup plans in three areas, including a vehicle storage yard in Salt Lake City’s Ballpark Neighborhood, a 4.26-acre vacant lot in Millcreek and a small commercial building in Magna that was damaged during an earthquake in March 2020, according to the EPA.
Contributing: Don Brinkherhoff
The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.
The National Weather Service in Salt Lake City issued red flag warning Friday morning as emergency workers continued to battle one of the state’s largest wildfires in its history.
The red flag warning, issued when critical fire warnings are occurring or imminent, was to be in place through midnight Saturday.
“This is the FIRST Particularly Dangerous Situation Red Flag Warning issued in NWS Salt Lake City history. This is an exceptionally rare event,” the federal agency said in its warning.
A map of the area under the warning covered much of central and southwest Utah, with an area of the southwest, central and southern mountains also outlined as “particularly dangerous red flag.”
The particularly dangerous area includes the Cottonwood Fire, near the town of Beaver, which started Monday and had grown to covering almost nearly 71,000 acres by Thursday, 15 News reported. The fire forced evacuations.
The NWS warned that gusty winds and dry conditions would lead to rapid fire growth.
Utah also was dealing with the Iron Fire, which started June 19, and nearly destroyed the town of Eureka. The fire was about 27% contained Friday morning.
The fire danger led Utah Gov. Spencer Cox to issue executive order restricting fireworks statewide during the July 4 holiday, which marks the nation’s 250th birthday this year. The ban is in effect through July 5.
“Nothing about this decision was easy,” Cox said in a statement issued by his office Thursday.
“This is unlike anything we’ve seen in recent memory. We’re seeing fires spread farther and faster under conditions that defy historical expectations” Jamie Barnes, Utah state forester and director of the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands, added in the statement.
Cox allowed cities and local communities to set aside areas where fireworks could be safely used. The city of Provo announced it would enforce a citywide prohibition on fireworks and would not designate a safe area for fireworks.
“This year is different,” Provo Mayor Marsha Judkins said in a statement. “The wildfire danger facing our community is real, and protecting lives, homes, and our natural spaces must come first.”
-
Boston, MA6 minutes agoWhat JJ Peterka Will Add to the Bruins’ Roster, ‘He’s Got an Elite Shot’ | Boston Bruins
-
Denver, CO9 minutes agoThis Boulder farm dinner serves up midsummer Slavic vibes with James Beard-worthy fare
-
Seattle, WA14 minutes agoSeattle Pride weekend to bring parade, festivals and World Cup crowds
-
San Diego, CA21 minutes agoYour Produce Man – Great produce at the San Diego Farmers Market! 8am
-
Milwaukee, WI23 minutes agoSee the corpse flower in bloom this weekend at the Domes
-
Atlanta, GA29 minutes agoHow to watch DR Congo vs. Uzbekistan today: TV channel, streaming and kickoff time
-
Minneapolis, MN36 minutes agoNorth Minneapolis shooting injures 2 near Logan Avenue
-
Indianapolis, IN39 minutes agoStorm chance today, then turning hot and humid through midweek
