Major Setback: US Supreme Court Sends Case back to Lower Courts:
On 5/29/25, the US Supreme Court ruled 8-0 in favor of the UBR project, overturning an appeals court decision and sending the UBR case back to a lower court for consideration. Justices indicated that the deleterious environmental effects of extracting and burning the massive deposits of oil were not important and that instead, only the impacts constructing and operating the 88 mile railroad spur mattered.
The UBR project will still face additional legal and regulatory hurdles before construction can begin. This misguided Supreme Court ruling also weakens the bedrock NEPA laws that have protected our environment for decades.
5/29/25 ARTICLE: US Supreme Court paves way for controversial Uinta Basin rail project that would haul crude oil along Colorado River
5/29/25 ARTICLE: US Supreme Court rules in favor of controversial Utah oil train
5/29/25 ARTICLE: SCOTUS clears path for more crude trains through Colorado
5/29/25 ARTICLE: US Supreme Court rules on controversial Utah oil railroad
5/29/25 ARTICLE: Uinta Basin Railway gets green light as Supreme Court narrows scope of environmental law
What is the UBR?
If approved, the UBR will haul millions of barrels of hot waxy crude oil across Colorado by rail as it travels hundreds of miles along the Colorado River. Up to 10 trains per day – each one up to 1-2 miles in length with an estimated 100 cars – will rumble through Grizzly Canyon, Gore Canyon, the Moffat Tunnel and downtown Denver on the way from Utah to the Gulf Coast for refinement. With the frequency of wildfires, rockslides, mudslides, avalanches, and flooding throughout the west, a derailment poses an unthinkable threat to the 40 million people who rely on the Colorado River to survive. Check out our UBR page here for more background.
