Utah railway and other energy infrastructure projects to face fewer hurdles as NEPA falls in crosshairs Image By EPN Staff Key Points The unanimous Seven County Infrastructure Coalition decision limits NEPA reviews to direct project impacts, reducing the ability of opponents to delay projects by citing indirect upstream or downstream effects. Recent administrative changes and Interior Department reforms reduce NEPA review timelines from years to as little as weeks, accelerating energy and infrastructure development. Congressional consideration of the bipartisan SPEED Act signals continued efforts to modernize NEPA, reduce litigation delays, and provide greater certainty for large-scale energy projects. The proposed 100-mile Uinta Basin Railway connecting the oil-rich Utah basin to the national rail network took another step forward after the District of Columbia Circuit Court sent the plan off for a final review. Once built, the railway will transport crude oil to refineries on the Gulf Coast. Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously in the Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County case to overturn the D.C. Circuit’s initial ruling which favored environmentalists who tried to halt the project. The Supreme Court’s ruling on the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) will make it harder for environmentalists to obstruct energy projects. The decision, in combination with recent changes made by the Trump Administration to shorten the NEPA review process, will enable more energy projects to start more quickly by shortening the time required for a NEPA review. Why it matters NEPA, a law established in 1970, requires an environmental review for energy projects built on federal lands or needing federal permits, funding or approval. The median time to complete a regular NEPA review is 1.2 years and 2.8 years for a more thorough Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), according to a study by Pleune and others. Recognizing the unnecessary delay imposed by NEPA, the Department of the Interior adopted an alternative NEPA process for energy projects this spring shortening the process to 14 days for an environmental assessment and 28 days for an EIS. The NEPA process can be further prolonged when environmentalists and others who oppose the project sue on grounds that the review was incomplete. A recent report by the nonpartisan Breakthrough Institute found that NEPA litigation typically imposed a three-year delay on energy projects. Some projects in study were mired in litigation for decades. The Seven County Infrastructure Coalition decision will limit NEPA lawsuits by requiring NEPA impact statements to address direct project effects and not upstream or downstream potential impacts. Courts are required to defer to the agency making the report. The bigger picture Recognizing the need for more NEPA reform and modernization, Congress is considering the bipartisan “Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development (SPEED) Act,” H.R. 4776. It would reform NEPA by shortening EIS completion timelines and reports, ensuring an EIS is only required for major federal action, eliminating procedural hurdles and establishing a statute of limitations for legal challenges. The legislation has cleared the House Natural Resources Committee. Additional detail When granting approval for the Seven County Infrastructure Coalition’s proposed Uinta rail line, the U.S. Surface Transportation Board had to prepare an EIS under NEPA, examining the environmental impact of the line. After the board approved the project, environmental organizations challenged the EIS for not considering the environmental impact of drilling and refining oil, issues only tangentially related to the proposed rail line. The D.C. Circuit voided the board’s final approval. The Supreme Court, however, overruled the circuit court interpretation of NEPA as requiring consideration of other actions that are “separate in time or place” from the Uinta Basin Railway. NEPA was intended to serve as a “cross-check rather than an obstruction.” SUGGESTED STORIES SCOTUS reins in use of federal law to delay projects A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision may boost energy and other infrastructure projects by reining in government application of – and lawsuits over – the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Court justices were unanimous in their bottom line in the case, ordering lower courts t Read more Renewable energy projects face new permitting, regulatory oversight Prospective solar, wind and battery storage projects would be subject to permitting and regulatory oversight by the Oklahoma Corporation Commission under a proposal making its way through the state legislature. Why it matters Although new oil and gas projects must get a permi Read more New report downgrades U.S. energy infrastructure An engineering industry association says the nation is moving in the wrong direction regarding its energy infrastructure. The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) has given U.S. energy infrastructure a D+ in its most recent report card, down from a C- in 2021. The 2025 Report Read more
SCOTUS reins in use of federal law to delay projects A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision may boost energy and other infrastructure projects by reining in government application of – and lawsuits over – the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Court justices were unanimous in their bottom line in the case, ordering lower courts t Read more
Renewable energy projects face new permitting, regulatory oversight Prospective solar, wind and battery storage projects would be subject to permitting and regulatory oversight by the Oklahoma Corporation Commission under a proposal making its way through the state legislature. Why it matters Although new oil and gas projects must get a permi Read more
New report downgrades U.S. energy infrastructure An engineering industry association says the nation is moving in the wrong direction regarding its energy infrastructure. The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) has given U.S. energy infrastructure a D+ in its most recent report card, down from a C- in 2021. The 2025 Report Read more
