STB releases FEIS for proposed Utah line

Written by Jenifer Nunez, assistant editor

The Surface Transportation Board's Office of Environmental Analysis (OEA) has issued a Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed construction and operation of a 43-mile rail line between Levan and Salina, Utah. Approval to construct and operate the line is being sought by the Six County Association of Governments' (Six Counties), an association of local governments located in central Utah.

 

The rail line would run from a proposed coal transfer facility in Salina to a connection with a Union Pacific mainline near Levan and would allow coal currently being shipped by truck to be transported by rail. OEA worked with two cooperating agencies, the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, on the Final EIS.

The Final EIS sets forth OEA’s final recommendations to the board on an environmentally preferred alternative route and mitigation measures to minimize environmental impacts, based on OEA’s consultation with federal, state and local agencies and input from citizens and organizations in Utah. Issuance of the Final EIS completes the environmental review process, following a 2007 Draft EIS and a 2014 Supplemental Draft EIS. The board now will decide whether to grant final approval for the proposal. In reaching a final decision, the board will take into consideration the Draft EIS, Supplemental DEIS and Final EIS, including OEA’s final recommendations.

 

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