WASHINGTON — Oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court are set for Dec. 10 regarding the appeal of the lower-court decision blocking construction of the Uinta Basin Railway, the Grand Junction (Colo.) Daily Sentinel reports.
The Supreme Court agreed in June to hear the appeal from the Seven County Infrastructure Coalition, the Utah governmental body backing the proposed 88-mile rail line to connect a remote oil-producing area to the national rail network [see “Supreme Court to review decision …,” Trains News Wire, June 24, 2024]. In 2023, the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia overturned the Surface Transportation Board decision allowing construction of the rail line, saying the STB decision was “arbitrary and capricious” for failing to consider larger environmental impacts related to the rail line, such as the effects of the drilling and refining of the oil [see “Federal court strikes down approval …,” News Wire, Aug. 18, 2023]. That sent the matter back to the STB for a new review.
Citing what it said are conflicting lower-court decisions on considering downstream effects in an environmental review, the Seven County group asked the Supreme Court to decide “whether the National Environmental Policy Act requires an agency to study environmental impacts beyond the proximate effects of the action over which the agency has regulatory authority.”
Its about freaking time. States rights over legislating Judges. The Supremes (judges not the sing group…lol) can decide once and for all the argument and then people can go about their business with out worry about about some jurists deciding that he/she knows better than the highest court in the land.
About freaking time. I am sick and tired of Appeal Courts in the East deciding matters for people and states in the West. If Colorado wants to be like California then let them disconnect ALL rail lines from the national network and see how long they are satisfied with the results. Maybe they can get rid of cars and trucks (including their SUV’s) and go back to living like the days of the pioneers, if they intend to be so environmentally conscious. But also expect a huge drop in tourism and commerce as businesses decidedly move to more business and people friendly locations. Like Forrest Gump says, “Stupid is as stupid does…”
Sorry for the double post…
This is a very important case. If the DC Appeals court verdict is upheld in the US Supreme Court, it is going to make it much harder and take much longer to get anything done construction-wise in this country. That’s why the Supreme Court has accepted the case.