Submission Number: UBR-DEIS-00370 -- Oral Comment at Public Meeting 

Received: 11/30/2020 12:00:00 PM
Commenter: Quinn Bennion
Organization: 
State: 

Agency: STB
Initiative: Uinta Basin Railway EIS
Attachments: No Attachments
Submission Text
Yeah, good evening.· Full name is Quinn Bennion, and I live in Vernal, and I currently work as City Manager of the City of Vernal and appreciate all of the presentation and information and making it available online, really, really thorough.

My comments relate to the economics of the railway in the EIS referred to as the socioeconomic section.· I am supportive of the railway primarily for the economics.

I, and many, work diligently to try to boost and help our local economy in the basin.· We are making some strides, but it is very difficult to change an economy that currently is heavily in oil and gas.

I look at the railway as a way to diversify the economy.· It's much better and much easier to
diversify and move into other markets or other types of industry with a railway than without a railway.

I know there's a lot of negative comments from certain groups about the use of the rail in
for-extraction product oil -- oil crude, particularly. And I, you know, respect those comments.· However, I see long term this allows the basin to -- to get into
other industries to help and grow our economy that needs it.· I appreciate.· Those are my comments and my -- my point and thank you.