Description: Challenge to a Surface Transportation Board decision approving construction and operation of an 85-mile rail line in Utah.
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Eagle County v. Surface Transportation Board
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 12/04/2023 Order Download Petition for rehearing en banc denied. D.C. Circuit Denied En Banc Rehearing in Utah Rail Line Case. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals denied defendant-intervenors’ petition for rehearing en banc of its August 2023 opinion finding that the Surface Transportation Board (STP) violated NEPA, the Endangered Species Act, and the Interstate Commerce Commission Termination (ICCT) Act when it reviewed a proposal for construction and operation of an 80-mile rail line in Utah for which the predominant purpose would be transporting waxy crude oil produced in the Uinta Basin. The defendant-intervenors had argued that the court’s opinion conflicted with 2022 and 2023 D.C. Circuit decisions that they argued would not require consideration of upstream and downstream indirect effects where information is not known about upstream wells and downstream end users. They also argued that the court failed to apply the ICCT Act’s presumption favoring rail construction when it found that STB failed to sufficiently weigh environmental effects. 11/09/2023 Opposition Download Opposition to rehearing en banc filed by petitioners Center for Biological Diversity et al. 11/09/2023 Opposition Download Opposition to petition for rehearing en banc filed by Eagle County. 11/09/2023 Opposition Download Opposition to petition for rehearing en banc filed by United States and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 11/09/2023 Response Download Response filed by Surface Transportation Board to petition for rehearing en banc. 09/29/2023 Petition for Rehearing Download Petition for rehearing en banc filed by intervenor-respondents. 08/18/2023 Opinion Download Exemption order, environmental impact statement, and biological opinion vacated. D.C. Circuit Said Surface Transportation Board Gave Insufficient Consideration to Environmental Effects of Utah Rail Line. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals found “numerous” violations of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in the Surface Transportation Board’s review of the proposed construction and operation of an 80-mile rail line in Utah for which the predominant purpose would be transporting waxy crude oil produced in the Uinta Basin. The violations included failure to disclose reasonably foreseeable upstream and downstream effects of increased oil drilling and refining, including greenhouse gas emissions from combustion. The court was not persuaded, however, that any mischaracterization of the upstream environmental and downstream climate change impacts of the project as “cumulative” instead of “indirect” impacts had any prejudicial effect. The court also found violations of the Endangered Species Act and the Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act (ICCT Act), but not the National Historic Preservation Act. With respect to the ICCT Act, the D.C. Circuit found that the Board’s order exempting the project from the full application requirements was arbitrary and capricious because the Board failed to weigh certain environmental effects, including climate effects of the combustion of fuel resulting from a major expansion of oil drilling. The court said “the ICCT Act necessitated a more fulsome explanation for the Board’s conclusion that the Railway’s transportation benefits outweighed the project’s environmental impacts.” The court vacated the exemption order, as well as the environmental impact statement and biological opinion. 08/18/2022 Brief Download Opening brief filed by petitioners Center for Biological Diversity et al. 08/18/2022 Brief Download Opening brief filed by petitioner Eagle County. 02/10/2022 Petition for Review Download Petition for review filed. Challenges Filed to New Rail Line to Carry Oil Produced in Uinta Basin. Eagle County, Colorado and a group of five environmental groups filed petitions in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals for review of a Surface Transportation Board decision approving construction and operation of an 85-mile rail line in Utah. The proponents of the rail line contended that it would be a viable alternative to trucking. The line would carry oil produced in the Uinta Basin, as well as other goods produced or consumed in the Uinta Basin. The environmental groups also challenged the biological opinion issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in connection with the approval of the rail line. Eagle County’s petition asserted that the STB’s decision “was issued without observance of procedures required by law, is arbitrary and capricious, constitutes an abuse of discretion, exceeds the STB’s statutory authority,” and was in violation of the Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, the Administrative Procedure Act, and other federal laws. -
Center for Biological Diversity v. Surface Transportation Board
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 02/11/2022 Petition for Review Download Petition for review filed.