The high court on Monday announced that it would take up a case concerning the approval of a railway line that could ship oil in Utah.
A lower court said that more assessments of the railway’s impacts on oil production and refining — and the corresponding environmental impacts — was needed before it could be approved.
Railway company Uinta Basin Railway, LLC and Utah’s Seven County Infrastructure Coalition are hoping the Supreme Court will challenge that decision.
But, more broadly, the case seeks to bar federal agencies from considering a project’s indirect emissions — those related to the project’s impacts on fossil fuel production or consumption.
If the company wins out, this ruling could apply not only to rail projects, but also pipelines, shipping ports and other methods of transporting oil, gas and coal.
Michael Gerrard, director of Columbia University’s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, said that it would be “very worrisome” for the climate if the petitioners win out.
“It could reduce the consideration of climate impacts” for a “wide variety” of federal actions, Gerrard noted.
Read more in a full report at TheHill.com.
