We call on Colorado AG Weiser to join the 15 other state Attorneys General in their suit against the fake "energy emergency" that violates the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act, among other key environmental laws.
You’ve already heard about the Uinta Basin Oil Train that we’ve been fighting for years… well, there’s another terrible project designed to quadruple the extraction of this same waxy crude oil from Utah’s Uinta Basin – and it just got fast-tracked approval because of Trump’s bogus “national energy emergency.” This project has major implications for Colorado, so read on:
Last week, the BLM just approved the expansion of the Wildcat Loadout facility in Utah without doing an environmental impact study and without allowing public comment or administrative appeal – all in just 14 days (article, article). This facility pumps oil that has traveled in tanker trucks (along winding, 2-lane, UT canyons containing famous petroglyphs and conservation land) into heated train cars for transport along the Colorado River – thence over mountain passes, through Denver and Pueblo, to refineries on the Gulf Coast. These oil trains are miles long and are prone to derailments, sparking wildfires, and causing spills into the Colorado River. Oil trains racing along the Colorado endanger this drinking water source for tens of millions of people, not to mention Colorado’s economy which relies on clean water for tourism, ranching and agriculture.
All of the rushed, backroom aspects of the BLM approval make the Wildcat Expansion Project vulnerable to lawsuits. We call on Colorado AG Weiser to join the 15 other state Attorneys General in their suit against the fake “energy emergency” that violates the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act, among other key environmental laws.
And as if the acceleration of oil drilling in the Uinta Basin and numerous risks to Colorado were not bad enough… this Wildcat Loadout Facility has a long history of blatant violations – being out of compliance with state and federal air quality rules for the last 6 years. Inspections performed there more than 3 years ago found missing air pollution control equipment and incorrect VOC control practices. Inspectors state that the Wildcat Loadout facility has been illegally releasing at least 40 tons of VOCs per year (probably since it was built) and readily admit that the actual amount is likely much more due to truckers rushing and not following the permit’s rules. Despite these ongoing and well documented violations, no fines were levied and no fixes have been made (article).
