Settlement cuts off oil shale giant’s planned mine and processing facility from water supply

The massive Enefit project in northeast Utah’s Uintah Basin would be the nation’s first commercial-scale oil shale mine and processing facility. It would also drain billions of gallons of water from the Green River, generate enormous amounts of greenhouse gas pollution and exacerbate the Uintah Basin’s often-dismal air quality. Huge amounts of water are required…

Water-sucking project threatens endangered species, climate, air quality

Conservation groups issued a notice of intent to sue the Trump administration for approving rights-of-way for pipelines and powerlines that pave the way for the nation’s first commercial oil shale development.

How the Obama administration responds to a precedent setting proposal for oil shale mining in Utah poses a key test for the president’s climate commitments ratified in Paris last year.

A foreign company wants to build a strip mine and refining facility in Utah, and federal land managers are lending a hand.

This DEIS represents the first real opportunity for BLM to analyze the impacts of a commercial oil shale project in the United States. Thus, it is vital that BLM take an exhaustive and expansive look at Enefit’s oil shale project and take all steps necessary to protect public resources. Indeed,
the already-known potential harms of the oil shale strip mine and processing plant – to land, water, air and climate – are so destructive that BLM, as part of its obligation to protect the public interest, can and should deny the rights-of-way that facilitate this project.

Strip mining plan threatens land, water, wildlife, climate

Enefit’s mining facility in Utah would expand development and use of kerogen oil, one of world’s most carbon-polluting fuels