Utah’s multibillion dollar oil train proposal chugs along amid environment and derailment concerns

By SAM METZ
Associated Press

DUCHESNE, Utah (AP) — One of the United States’ biggest rail investments in more than a century could be an 88-mile line in Utah that would run through tribal lands and national forest to move oil and gas to the national rail network. State and local officials in Utah think it’ll be an economic boon for rural communities. They also argue it’s good for domestic energy production. Critics question investing billions in oil and gas infrastructure as the country seeks to use less of the fossil fuels that worsen climate change. They also wonder what preliminary approvals from federal agencies say about President Joe Biden’s oil and gas policies.