Rehearing denied in case to block federal approval of Utah oil railway

A proposed crude oil-transporting Utah railway project, which would be financed with private-activity bonds, will officially lose key federal approval next week, following another legal setback this week.

The District of Columbia-based U.S. Appeals Court on Monday denied a request by the Uinta Basin Railway and Utah’s Seven County Infrastructure Coalition for , which plans to seek up to $2 billion in private-activity bond authorization from the U.S. Department of Transportation for the project.

Zukoski said the defendants could go back and address flaws in the project’s environmental assessment or seek a review by the U.S. Supreme Court within 90 days.

The railway said it is still digesting the decision and making plans for the next step forward. Following the August court ruling, the railway said it was “ready, willing, and capable of working with the U.S. Surface Transportation Board to ensure additional reviews and the project’s next steps proceed without further delay.”

A Surface Transportation Board spokesman declined to comment.

Environmental groups and members of Congress from Colorado have raised concerns over the railway’s potential harm to the Colorado River’s headwaters, particularly in the wake of high–profile, toxic train derailments in other parts of the nation.