New Railroad by Colorado River Raises Concern Over Environment and Public Health

What’s the story? 

• A newly proposed Uinta oil railroad is to be built alongside the Colorado River in Utah, which many say will threaten the health of the surrounding environment and millions of Americans in the region. 
• According to federal agencies, up to five two-mile-long oil trains would run on the 88-mile railway every day. If approved, the railway would quadruple crude oil production in the Uinta Basin. Federal agencies have alluded to their willingness to issue developing permits, ignoring the Biden administration’s climate goals. 

What’s the threat? 

• If the train cars were to derail, it would be catastrophic for the Colorado River, which provides drinking water to 40 million people, 30 tribal nations, and millions of acres of farmland.
• The railway could extract and transport 350,000 barrels of crude oil a day. Campaigners warn it would pose a grave threat to the river and the quality of air, which is already in a crisis due to the region’s mega-drought.
• Environmental and public health activists have been rallying in opposition to the proposed railway, especially since the derailment in East Palestine.
• Developers hope to receive billions of dollars of tax breaks for the new railroad through a program meant to help mainly fast-track rail and road projects with public benefits. As the railroad industry has spent around $280 million lobbying in Washington, activists fear that the Department of Transportation will approve the tax breaks, making it easier for developers to start the Uinta Basin Railway Project. 

What they’re saying 

• Managing attorney at Earthjustice, Kristen Boyles, said:

“If this goes forward it will be a triumph of corporate greed. The fact that we continue to have disasters like East Palestine and near misses over and over again is a regulatory failure that demonstrates the absolute power of railroad industry lobbying.”

• The railway company expressed its belief that environmentalists are overstating the risk of ecological harm and the possibility of derailment. According to the Federal Railroad Administration, an average of three derailments are reported daily in the U.S. Mehdi Ahmadian, professor of mechanical engineering at Virginia Tech, said the U.S.’s railroads are very safe. He continued: 

“...we’re not hearing left and right about derailments in various places around the country, and the main reason for that is they are not really a major event.”

• While agreeing that railroads are safe, President and CEO of the American Association of Railroads, Ian Jefferies, highlighted the dangers: 

“But even one incident can have a dramatic impact on a community, and as an industry that operates within communities throughout the country, we take that responsibility incredibly seriously.”

• Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg criticized the industry for their “vigorous resistance” to additional safety measures yet hasn’t signaled shooting down the proposed tax breaks. Sen. Michael Bennet and Rep. Joe Neguse (D-CO) are urging Buttigieg to consider the risks of the tax breaks and any other federal financing mechanism to fund the railway project. They wrote: 

“Our review of the Project found no plan to mitigate the harm of potential accident or derailment in Colorado, which could be particularly difficult to address given our state’s mountainous terrain.” 

Stay up to date on the East Palestine derailment here.

What do you think of the newly proposed Colorado River railroad? Do you support or oppose the proposed Uitna project? 

-Jamie Epstein

(Photo credit: iStock/mtcurado)