Overview

• The Court found NEPA’s requirement for “reasonably foreseeable” impacts does not extend to separate projects’ downstream refining or upstream drilling.
• The ruling overturns the D.C. Circuit’s 2023 decision that had invalidated the Surface Transportation Board’s environmental statement as too narrow.
• Justice Neil Gorsuch recused himself over ties to billionaire Philip Anschutz, leaving an 8-0 bench to rule in favor of the project.
• The 88-mile line is designed to link Utah’s Uinta Basin oil producers to Gulf Coast refineries via the national rail network.
• Industry backers say the outcome accelerates energy infrastructure projects, while environmental advocates warn of increased ecological risks.