"SALT LAKE CITY — The U.S. Forest Service on Wednesday withdrew its approval of a right-of-way permit that would have allowed the construction of a railroad project through about 12 miles (19 kilometers) of roadless, protected forest in northeastern Utah.
The decision affecting the Ashley National Forest follows a U.S. appeals court ruling in August that struck down a critical approval involving the Uinta Basin Railway, a proposed 88-mile (142-kilometer) railroad line that would connect oil and gas producers in rural Utah to the broader rail network. It would allow them to access larger markets and ultimately sell to refineries near the Gulf of Mexico.
“It’s a victory for the Colorado River and nearby communities that would be threatened by oil train accidents and spills, and for residents of the Gulf Coast, where billions of gallons of oil would be refined,” said Ted Zukoski, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, one of several groups that has sued over the project."
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