Supreme Court upholds oil railroad expansion in Utah, limiting an environmental law
The National Environmental Policy Act requires the government to consider the potential future impacts of various infrastructure projects, from highways to pipelines.
Supreme Court
The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the expansion of a railroad to transport oil in Utah, narrowing the scope of one of the country's most important environmental laws.
In a unanimous 8-0 decision, the court ruled that reviews conducted under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) need not consider certain impacts, upstream or downstream, of an infrastructure program.
Appeal to the Supreme Court
This follows an appeal to the Supreme Court by the sponsors of the project, which aims to quadruple oil production in a sandstone area.
NEPA requires the government to consider the potential future impacts of various infrastructure projects, from roads to pipelines.
The case centers on the Uinta Basin Railroad, where an 88-mile expansion is planned that would connect oil and gas producers to the broader rail network, allowing them to access larger markets.
What is NEPA?
The law requires federal agencies to study and report on the environmental impact of any action they propose.
If, for example, a federal agency proposes to approve a private company to build an infrastructure project, such as a highway or solar energy project, that agency must undergo NEPA's environmental impact review process before granting approval.
Government review "did not fully analyze the potential environmental effects"
The justices reversed a lower trial court decision that ruled some time earlier that the government's review was inadequate because it did not fully consider the impacts of increased oil production and refining that could occur as a result of the rail project.
Examples of impacts included that runoff in a river flowing many miles from the project would affect fish populations elsewhere and that emissions traveling downwind would foreseeably pollute other areas.
The justices' opinion now also limits the power of federal courts to block projects on similar grounds. However, the project could still face additional legal and regulatory hurdles.
LATEST
