Overview

• The Court’s unanimous decision narrowed NEPA’s scope to require agencies to assess only direct project effects, overturning a 2023 appeals court ruling that had halted the rail plan.
• Justice Brett Kavanaugh authored the opinion, joined by all participating justices as Neil Gorsuch recused himself over ties to a Colorado billionaire with stakes in the project.
• Supporters plan an 88-mile Uinta Basin Railway to connect Utah’s oil fields to the national freight network, a link expected to quadruple regional crude output.
• By curtailing broader environmental reviews, the ruling aligns with Trump-era efforts to fast-track energy infrastructure yet still leaves the railroad subject to further STB approvals and potential legal challenges.
• Environmental and local groups warned that excluding downstream impact analyses could increase pollution, spill risks and greenhouse gas emissions without fuller safeguards.