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VERNAL — On Feb. 26, eight conservation groups gave a 60-day notice of intent to sue the Bureau of Land Management over violations of the Endangered Species Act after the Enefit American Oil Utility Corridor Project was approved.

Enefit, an oil shale company, plans to construct pipelines and transmission lines on Utah’s federal public lands, which the suing organizations believe will cause habitat destruction, water loss and significant air pollution.

“If the government does not begin correcting problems outlined in our notice within 60 days, our next step will be litigation in Federal District Court,” Taylor McKinnon, a representative from the Center for Biological Diversity, told KSL.com.

The Enefit American Oil Utility Corridor Project is consistent with the Trump administration’s goal to obtain energy independence for the United States and foster economic development in rural parts of the country through the creation of new jobs and infrastructure, according to the BLM.

Enefit's Project

On Sep. 26, 2018, the BLM approved the Enefit American Oil project, which will construct 13.7 miles of water supply pipeline, 5.58 miles of natural gas supply lines, 7.18 miles of buried oil product pipelines and two powerlines, according to the BLM. The project would be located in Uintah County, an estimated 40 miles south of Vernal.

Enefit is owned by the world’s largest shale processing company, which is based in Estonia, according to the BLM. Enefit currently mines around 17 million tons of oil shale each year and employs nearly 8,000 people.

The company is intending to do the least amount of environmental damage they can during the project, they said. Enefit Utah’s mission statement is to provide, “A proven, efficient and environmentally sound means to help Utah become energy independent while providing long-term jobs for local families.”

Enefit seeks to adhere to environmental standards during its Utah operations. One such effort is to return all shale and waste rock to its original location, where they will work to reclaim it to blend with natural topography, according to Enefit. They also plan to meet air quality regulations and reclaim and reuse all water on site.

Environmental Concerns

Dan Mayhew, representing the Utah chapter of the Sierra Club, said the lawsuit is the result of the BLM's failure to acknowledge certain environmental factors when they approved Enefit's project.

“The Sierra Club and our partner organizations are concerned about the incredibly damaging and negative impacts to climate change, fish and wildlife habitat and human health,” he said.

Mayhew identified Sierra Club’s reasons for filing the lawsuit notice as follows:

In terms of climate disruptors, potential greenhouse gas emissions from oil shale production in the Green River Basin is one of the largest in the US.

Throughout the mine's lifetime, more than 200 million tons of greenhouse gas could be emitted into the atmosphere. The carbon footprint for production of oil shale is 40 percent greater than conventional oil.

The water pipeline approved by the BLM would also enable removal of up to 10,867 acre-feet per year of water from the Green River for use at the oil shale facility.

The entire Colorado River Basin is in the midst of a severe 20-year climate change-related drought. Utah needs to hold onto every drop of water coming its way.

The BLM failed to adequately analyze severe impacts to four endangered fish and two plant species as a result of the Enefit project.

Taylor McKinnon of the Center for Biological Diversity

The Uinta Basin is already suffering from some of the worst air pollution in Utah and is currently under review by the EPA.

The notice said the BLM and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service were not protecting multiple endangered animals when they approved the measure. The notice argues that the BLM has violated the law by ignoring the potential harms to fish through studying only the harm from water depletion during construction, not once it has been built.

The endangered species threatened by the developments include the Colorado pikeminnow and the razorback sucker, according to the Center for Biological Diversity. It could also destroy the habitats of two rare types of wildflowers.

What’s next for Enefit and the lawsuit?

“It may be true that Enefit is trying to use the least amount of water possible,” Mayhew told KSL.com. “The problem is that oil shale development is inherently water and greenhouse gas intensive."

Moench thinks there are also a number of significant health problems that could result from the oil shale extraction and pipeline process. He believes there is a strong risk of widespread groundwater contamination in the future and extensive air pollution from Uintah County’s already-prominent oil and gas industry.

Should the BLM not retract their approval of the Enefit American Oil Utility Corridor Project within 60 days, the eight organizations will go forward with their lawsuit in a federal district court.

The groups that filed the notice include the Center for Biological Diversity, the Grand Canyon Trust, Natural Resources Defense Council, the Sierra Club, Living Rivers/Colorado RiverKeeper, Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment, and the Waterkeeper Alliance.