Submission Number: UBR-DEIS-00222 

Received: 12/11/2020 10:41:09 AM
Commenter: Jim Marshall
Organization: Uintah Basin Medical Center
State: Utah

Agency: STB
Initiative: Uinta Basin Railway EIS
Attachments: No Attachments
Submission Text
I am the President and CEO of Uintah Basin Healthcare located in Roosevelt Utah. Uintah Basin Healthcare is the largest independent rural healthcare system in Utah employing nearly 800 employees throughout our system which serves the Uintah Basin covering the Tri County area including the Ute tribe. I am also the chairman of the Roosevelt City Economic Development Committee. Economic diversification in our region is essential to create a more sustainability and less volatile local economy. The addition of a new railway into the Uintah Basin will go a long way to allow our region to diversify our economy by expanding manufacturing, agriculture, and other industries. The railway will also allow our oil industry to reduce the cost of transportation, open new markets across the country and world, increase the sales price of our crude, etc. Our waxy crude is sold in the state at a discount due to the difficulty and cost of transportation and a limit number of local buyers. Because our oil is sold at a discount, when oil prices drop, we quickly fall below a price point sufficient to continue drilling and local production halts while other regions can continue to produce. By expanding our market, we will be able to increase our sale price to market pricing or possibly a premium. This change in sales price will allow our local economy to become more stabilized by reducing the impact and frequency of production and exploration interruptions. The addition of the rail terminals on the South Myton and Leland Benches will greatly increase the number of short trucking routes in Duchesne and Uintah Counties increasing the number of local trucking jobs. The addition of permanent railway jobs, agricultural and manufacturing jobs will also allow our local economy to stabilize and grow helping us to rebound from our 2015 recession. Uintah Basin Healthcare is investing in the future of healthcare for the Uintah Basin. We have begun construction on an estimated 45-million-dollar healthcare expansion project expanding healthcare services in both Duchesne and Uintah Counties. This expansion will ensure that primary and specialty care services are available across the Uintah Basin. The railway project will help ensure the financial success of this investment while we support the needs of the growing industry. Please contact me with any questions.