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The prospect of oil-filled trains from Utah rolling next to the Colorado River suffered another setback this week.

A Dec. 4 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia rejected a motion to rehear challenges to the Uinta Basin Railway. That proposal was for an 88-mile line linking wells in the Uinta Basin to the Union Pacific Railroad’s main line. That line in Colorado parallels the Colorado River across the Western Slope, including Glenwood Canyon and much of Eagle County.

The prospect of trains carrying crude oil, as much as 350,000 barrels per day, quickly got the attention of Eagle County officials shortly after the U.S. Surface Transportation Board approved the proposal in late 2021.

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Eagle County was among the first governments to oppose the plan, joining several environmental groups.

Other local, state and federal officials have joined the effort to stop the trains.

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Eagle County Attorney Bryan Treu said the appeal of the earlier decision was “The equivalent of a Hail Mary (pass) from Utah that fell incomplete.” The rejection of the appeal fit on a single page, Treu added.

Eagle County Commissioner Matt Scherr if the applicants decide to continue with the rail plan, they’ll have to re-apply “with a much more robust discussion about impacts.”

While the plan for a rail line linking the oil fields with the main line won’t happen soon, developers still envision hauling hundreds of thousands of barrels of “waxy” crude to the main rail line.

Deeta Seed is a Utah-based campaigner for the Center for Biological Diversity. That group has fought the line since shortly after it was first proposed.

Seed said there’s currently a proposal to truck the oil to a loading point near Price, Utah. That proposal would use one of a couple of routes, Seed said. One road, U.S. Highway 191, goes through Indian Canyon. That road is steep, narrow and curvy, Seed said. Another road, through Nine Mile Canyon, goes past ancient Native American pictographs and rock art.

Either one of those roads will need work in places, and the Bureau of Land Management holds right-of-way adjacent to both of those roads. Approval of requests for access will require the federal agency to create reports under the National Environmental Policy Act, Seed said.

Another problem is with air quality at the main line loading site at a place called Wildcat.

Scherr noted that site is currently out of compliance with clean air standards, particularly regarding ozone. The ozone pollution extends beyond the immediate area around Wildcat, Scherr said. Much of Colorado’s ozone pollution comes from sources outside the state, including Utah. Air quality in this state will likely affect decisions about the Wildcat loading site, Scherr said.

Seed said the Center for Biological Diversity is arguing the proposal for the Wildcat site requires a full federal Environmental Impact Statement to examine “all the impacts,” both at the Wildcat site and along the Union Pacific main line.

Treu said any future analyses will draw a lot of attention. While the original application to the Surface Transportation Board, a request for an “expedited” approval, didn’t draw much attention at first, “People are watching now,” Treu said.