Submission Number: UBR-DEIS-00097 

Received: 12/3/2020 11:52:27 PM
Commenter: Wayne Justice
Organization: 
State: Utah

Agency: STB
Initiative: Uinta Basin Railway EIS
Attachments: No Attachments
Submission Text
I am a third generation citizen of the Uintah Basin area (Uintah & Duchesne counties). I am 64 years old. I am a property owner. My career include working in the oil field, heavy equipment operator, coal fired power plant operator, farmer/rancher and owner of several small businesses. In 1896 my grandfather came to Vernal from Kentucky with his father when he was 8 years old. My grandfather and my father always talked about the one major thing that was holding back the economic growth of the Uintah Basin was the lack of a railroad to economical move large quantities of raw materials out of the Basin and move needed supplies into the Basin. During my life a few attempts have been made to get a railroad built into the Basin so we could be economically connected to the world. A rail road would help smooth out the boom and bust cycles of the oilfield because the market for Basin High was crude oil would have a much larger market than one refinery in Salt Lake City. There are those who claim a railroad out of the Basin will destroy the existing Uintah Basin crude trucking businesses. According to the trucking business owners that I have discussed the Basin railroad with their businesses would probably increase because there will be much more crude moved from the wellhead to the rail loading depot. And the demand for crude to be trucked to Salt Lake would still be there. I have listened to those who are against the railway being built and found their objections to be based on fear of the unknown. And their unreasonable demands for a guaranteed out come. When ever a major project is proposed there are always those who fail to see the big picture. When the Central Utah Water Project was proposed there were many objections to the cost, the land covered by lakes and reservoirs. If we had listened to the naysayers we would not have Steinaker Reservoir, Bottle Hollow Reservoir, Starvation Reservoir,Upper Stillwater and several smaller lakes which provide irrigation water, culinary water, recreation opportunities to the Basin residents. For those who want to have a guaranteed outcome on the building of the railroad out of the Basin are living in a fantasy world. There are no guarantees in life. We do our best and reap the rewards. We need this railway built. My Dad used to tell me and my siblings when we set out to reach a goal that was hard and had risk of failure the in life two principles applied to us. First: Nothing ventured! Nothing gained! Second: The faint heart never won the fair lady. Let’s not be fair of heart and venture what is needed and get this railroad and facilities built. Thank you for listening Wayne Justice