Colorado lawmakers urge EPA to review pollution permits at controversial Utah oil facilities

Two Colorado lawmakers are pressing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to scrutinize existing and proposed pollution permits at three Utah oil transport facilities, whose expansion they fear could endanger residents and wildlife across state lines.

The enlargement of the Wildcat Loadout, the Price River Terminal and the Savage Energy Terminal would boost daily export capacity in Utah’s Uinta Basin from the current 110,000 to 260,000 barrels of oil — which would then travel by rail through the Centennial State.  

The waxy crude oil would meander more than 100 miles alongside the headwaters of the Colorado River, which Sen. Michael Bennet (D) and Rep. Joe Neguse (D) described in a Tuesday letter as “a vital water supply” to about 40 million Americans and 30 tribal nations.”

“As oil transport by rail increases, the risk of spills and other incidents also increases,” the lawmakers wrote to EPA Administrator Michael Regan.

“A train derailment that spills oil in the Colorado River’s headwaters would be disastrous to our state’s water supplies, wildlife habitat, and outdoor recreation assets, and the broader Colorado River Basin,” they added.

Bennet and Neguse last year raised similar concerns about a proposal to construct the Uinta Basin Railway — an 88-mile-long project that would seek to connect the loading facilities to the national rail system.

Last summer, a federal court overruled the Surface Transportation Board’s (STB) authorization of that project and demanded a new environmental review of the proposal.

Just after that ruling, the lawmakers called upon the Bureau of Land Management to conduct a “full and robust” environmental assessment that would account for “all the risks posed to Colorado.”

Although the railway plans are still on pause, Bennet and Neguse maintained their concern about the expansions, as such efforts would ramp up oil shipments if the railway does materialize. 

At the same time, the Savage and Price River terminals are seeking new air quality permits from the State of Utah to facilitate their expansions, while the Wildcat Loadout recently received one to do the same, the lawmakers noted.

Expressing uncertainty as to whether the applications and permits sufficiently account for the resultant pollution, Bennet and Neguse urged the EPA to assess if the documents “are based on erroneous assumptions about emission control effectiveness and enforcement.”

At all three sites, the writers explained, the filings assume that emissions would be reduced by more than 95 percent by using flaring or a vapor balance control system. But the documents lack any requirements for monitoring, testing or maintenance protocols to confirm that such reductions are occurring, according to the lawmakers.

“We urge EPA to examine these proposed loadout expansions and ensure their permits are enforceable and will effectively limit harmful emissions,” they concluded.

Asked if the EPA had any comment on Bennet and Neguse’s requests, an EPA spokesperson responded that the agency “will review the letter and respond through the appropriate channels.”