Eagle County is suing the Federal government for fast-tracking an oil depot in Utah, saying this approval skirted public process and abused emergency powers.
The depot, known as the Wildcat Loadout Facility, was recently approved for expansion by the Bureau of Land Management. This facility is tied to the controversial Uinta Basin Railway proposal, which would reopen old rail along the Colorado River to ship crude oil between Utah and Western refineries.
In its lawsuit, filed this week, Eagle County lays out seven claims against the BLM and its Wildcat decision. The most damning says the agency violated laws made to protect the environment and due process.
“In authorizing the facility’s expansion, BLM relied on an alleged ‘energy emergency’ to fast-track approval of the project, despite the facility having been inactive for years and without any immediate threat to life, property, or natural resources,” county attorneys write in a statement released today. “Eagle County contends that this use of emergency authority unlawfully circumvented the environmental analysis and public engagement required under federal law.”
Other claims in the suit question the need for a facility upgrade, claiming it would increase production at Wildcat by at least 400% in coming year. That means more train traffic and increased danger of a potentially catastrophic oil spill along the Colorado River, according to county attorneys.
County officials remain frustrated by a perceived lack of respect. They believe residents were denied the chance to comment on the project, and when residents did comment, that input was ignored in the name of a dubious “emergency.”
“This action is about ensuring that federal agencies follow the law and fully evaluate the impacts of projects that affect our communities,” Eagle County Commissioner Tom Boyd said in the statement. “Eagle County is committed to protecting our natural resources, public safety and quality of life, and we’ll do what’s necessary to stand up for those values.”
The Uinta Basin railway has been controversial since the beginning. Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against Eagle County and environmental advocates, saying a 2021 review of the project passed review by the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA.
Multiple experts and elected officials believe the railway will be bad at best, and environmentally destructive at worst, for Eagle County and others on the Colorado River.
Railway backers meanwhile want billions in tax-free bonds to prop up their project.