Public Involvement

FINAL EIS

OEA has prepared the Final EIS that includes and responds to all comments received on the Draft EIS. The Final EIS sets forth OEA’s final conclusions regarding potential environmental impacts of the proposed rail line and OEA’s final recommendations to the Board, including recommended environmental mitigation measures.

OEA maintained a project mailing list throughout the EIS process. Persons interested in being added to the mailing list were able to request that through an online form on this Board-sponsored project website.

DRAFT EIS COMMENTS

The Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed Uinta Basin Railway was available for public review and comment. The public comment period closed on February 12, 2021, 105 days after the Notice of Availability of the EIS was published in the Federal Register.

Commenters were able to submit written comments electronically or through the mail. OEA will give the same consideration to all comments whether submitted electronically or mailed. OEA also hosted six public meetings to receive oral comments. Review online public meeting transcripts by clicking here.

Review all public comments received on the Draft EIS by clicking here.

PUBLIC MEETINGS ON THE DRAFT EIS

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and to ensure the safety of all participants, all public meetings for the Draft EIS were held online. OEA hosted six online public meetings at the following dates and times; all times are in Mountain Standard Time (MST).

• Monday, November 16, 2020, 2:00–4:00 p.m. MST
• Wednesday, November 18, 2020, 9:00–11:00 a.m. MST
• Thursday, November 19, 2020, 6:00–8:00 p.m. MST
• Monday, November 30, 2020, 6:00–8:00 p.m. MST
• Tuesday, December 1, 2020, 2:00–4:00 p.m. MST
• Thursday, December 3, 2020, 6:00–8:00 p.m. MST

OEA hosted all online meetings using Zoom. OEA began each online meeting with an overview of the proposed project and the environmental review process followed by a facilitated comment session for interested individuals who registered in advance to make oral comments. Each registered commenter had several minutes to convey his or her oral comments. A court reporter recorded the oral comments.

Click here to view the online public meeting transcripts.

2019 Scoping Meetings

OEA hosted six scoping meetings during July 2019 to provide the public with information on the proposed project and the environmental review process and to solicit comments on the Draft Scope of Study. The public scoping meetings were held at the following times and locations:

Monday, July 15 3 pm – 5 pm Ute Tribal Auditorium 6964 East 1000 South Fort Duchesne, UT	Tuesday, July 16 5 pm – 7 pm The Pavilion at Moffat County Fairgrounds 640 E. Victory Way Craig, CO
Wednesday, July 17 5 pm – 7 pm Carbon County Event Center 450 S. Fairgrounds Road Price, UT	Thursday, July 18 11 am – 1 pm Grace Event Center 1024 W. Highway 40 Roosevelt, UT
Thursday, July 18 5 pm – 7 pm Uintah Conference Center 313 East 200 South Vernal, UT	Friday, July 19 10 am – 12 pm Radisson Hotel Salt Lake City Downtown 215 W S Temple Salt Lake City, UT

The first thirty minutes of each meeting was an open house format, followed by a brief presentation. After the presentation, interested parties were provided an opportunity for public comment at an open microphone for the balance of the two-hour scoping meeting. A court reporter transcribed the public comments and comment forms were available. Meeting materials included display boards (link) and proposed alternative maps (link).

SCOPING COMMENTS

The scoping public comment period is now closed. OEA accepted public comments from June 19, 2019 through September 3, 2019. Comments were considered in the selection of the alternatives to be carried forward for analysis in the Draft EIS, as described in the December 13, 2019 Federal Register Notice of Availability of the Final Scope of Study for the EIS. Click here to contact OEA.