By Aidan Mortensen | KOAL News
The Bureau of Land Management announced on Wednesday, June 18, plans to conduct an environmental review regarding the proposed expansion of the Wildcat loadout facility. The facility transfers crude oil from tanker trucks to railcars.
This review will take place under a new 14-day accelerated environmental review process established by the Trump administration’s declaration of a national energy emergency.
The proposal comes from Coal Energy Group 2 LLC and looks to expand the facility’s capacity from 30,000 barrels per day to 100,000 barrels per day. If the expansion is approved, the facility located in Helper could increase its output to 1 billion gallons a year. It could also provide increased access to existing railways passing through Colorado and to refineries in Texas.
“If approved, Coal Energy Group 2, LLC, could reconfigure the facility to accommodate new infrastructure within the current 270-acre project area,” reads a release from the BLM. “The proposal includes adding unloading areas, a tank farm, loading systems, and related facilities to increase project capacity to transload oil.”
In 2023, Colorado Rep. Joe Neguse and Sen. Michael Bennet sent a letter to the BLM requesting they consider the impacts this expansion could have on Colorado, “Many Colorado communities have raised concerns about how the Wildcat Loadout expansion and the Uinta Basin Railway would increase oil train traffic and potential railway accidents that could harm water quality and wildlife, and enhance wildfire risk,” said the lawmakers.
This review follows a Supreme Court Victory for the Uintah Basin Railway, which allowed the railway to be constructed. According to a 2021 environmental review, this move could quintuple the oil production in the area.
According to the Alternative Arrangements for NEPA Compliance,” for projects not likely to have significant environmental impacts, the Responsible Official will prepare a focused, concise, and timely environmental assessment addressing the purpose and need for the proposed action, alternatives, mitigation measures, and a brief description of environmental effects. The environmental assessment should be prepared within approximately 14 days of receiving a complete application.”
This accelerated review process has been utilized before in the state for the approval to reopen the Velvet-Wood uranium mine in San Juan County.
Additional information on the project is available online at the BLM National NEPA Register.