![]() Opposing parties are waiting to learn the decision of a federal court impacting the construction of a new railway that will slice through a part of Colorado. As proposed, the Uinta Basin Rail line would run for around 85 miles, connecting the Uinta Basin in eastern Utah, known for its shale oil deposits, to a national rail network. In so doing, the line, which would be operated by the Texas-based Rio Grande Pacific Corporation, would go from Grand Junction and through the Moffat Tunnel heading into Denver and beyond. Late last year the federal Surface Transportation Board gave its approval to several different route proposals for the new railway, all following in the same general direction. The project, which in various forms has been talked about for decades, carries with it a price tag of anywhere from $1.2 billion to $1.5 billion. Proponents of the railway say it will not only provide an efficient means for moving crude oil from the Uinta Basin, which could amount to around 350,000 barrels daily, it will also serve to reduce congestion on area highways, which are now used for such transport. Opponents have raised environmental concerns, wondering about the potential danger to the communities the railway would travel through should there be an accident. Officials in Eagle County have since filed a suit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit challenging the STB’s approval of the project. The Eagle County action has now received the official support of nearly a dozen other Colorado counties and more than forty cities in the state. The legal action charges that in giving its approval to the project, the STB failed to look at its potential negative environmental impact, which could include the destruction of wildlife habitat and rare plants to make way for its construction. It is not known when the Court of Appeals will announce a decision in the matter. By Garry Boulard
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