The decision limits the scope of a federal law that mandates extensive environmental impact reviews of energy, infrastructure, and transportation projects.
Editor’s note: The original piece incorrectly stated the project in question was a pipeline, not a rail line. We have amended the article to reflect this correction on June 10, 2025.
A Supreme Court decision in favor of a proposed Utah rail line designed to move crude oil will likely have sweeping implications for other energy, transportation, and infrastructure projects. According to reporting by Nina Totenberg for NPR, “The decision makes it easier to win approval for highways, bridges, pipelines, wind farms and other infrastructure projects.”
The ruling concerns a proposed railway in Utah’s Uinta Basin, which was approved by the Surface Transportation Board (STB). “The U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington subsequently ruled that the Board had violated NEPA, by failing to consider the environmental effects from oil drilling and production, referred to as upstream, and oil refining and distribution, known as downstream.”
The Supreme Court’s reversal of that decision signals a rollback of NEPA’s powers. The act has been frequently used by environmental and community activists to block harmful projects and ensure that officials evaluate all the potential impacts of a project.
FULL STORY: Supreme Court limits environmental reviews of infrastructure projects
Misuse of Environmental Laws Betrays Their Intent
How laws written to protect natural resources and biodiversity are being reinterpreted by NIMBY groups to block development.
Utah Oil Shale Extraction Dealt Major Setback
The Surface Transportation Board's approval in 2021 of a proposed 85-mile Uinta Basin Railway in Utah that would have enabled increased extraction of the world's largest source of oil shale was partially vacated by a federal appeals court last month.
Trump's Latest Deregulatory Itch: The National Environmental Policy Act
In a move called "one of the biggest — and most audacious — deregulatory actions of the Trump administration," President Trump yesterday announced plans to weaken the National Environmental Policy Act for federal infrastructure projects.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant
A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.
Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail
The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.
Tesla Announced Human-Assisted Robotaxi Launch in San Francisco — But State Regulators Say Otherwise
The electric carmaker appears to be both-sides-ing its impending launch, telling regulators it will have human drivers on board while touting the project as ‘robotaxis’ to investors.
Indianapolis Encourages Tactical Urbanism With Lending Library, Grant Program
Residents can apply to receive assistance with traffic calming projects that can provide valuable data and lead to permanent changes.
Jacksonville Completes Park Street Road Diet
The half-mile corridor now features new bike lanes and sidewalks, as well as roundabouts and new landscaping.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Yukon Government
Caltrans
New Jersey Institute of Technology
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Norman, Oklahoma
City of Portland
City of Laramie