Submission Number: UBR-DEIS-00533 

Received: 2/1/2021 9:45:40 PM
Commenter: Joshua Bernhard
Organization: 
State: Utah

Agency: STB
Initiative: Uinta Basin Railway EIS
Attachments: No Attachments
Submission Text
To whom it may concern, As a citizen of Utah living within the interchange region of the proposed Uinta Basin Railway, i want to express my support for the project. The oil fields of the Uinta Basin will not stop producing within my lifetime, and the current truck traffic (approximately one loaded semi with two trailers every 5 to 10 minutes in addition to their empty counterparts moving the other way) on Highway 191 is dangerous to motorists and to the environment. The steep grades and tight curves of this road, the only way in or out of the basin for traffic like this, results in many runaways, flipped trailers, and leaks. These trucks expel thousands of pounds of carbon emissions and their engine brakes are loud and obnoxious, far more so than any train's dynamic braking which is simply converting the force of the train into electricity. The railroad will cut the truck traffic down to a minimum, so that instead of approximately 200 trucks daily, there will only be three to five freight trains. Science has proven that a diesel locomotive is far more efficient and environmentally friendly in terms of emissions than a semi tractor. It only makes environmental sense to use a railroad to reduce the impact on the high ozone and carbon pollution in the Basin. In addition, as a student of Native American history, I support the rights of the Native peoples of the Uinta Basin to use their land and mineral rights to their own benefit. We as Americans have spent two centuries taking that right from them, and now that they have reached a point where they are able to use their own remaining resources, the move to eliminate their means of transportation to the outside market is just another way for the white man to steal from the Indian. Socially, I support the Uinta Basin Railway project because I understand that the Ute Nation of the Uintah-Ouray Reservation supports it. The benefits to Utah, to our wilderness areas, and to the Native peoples of the Uinta Basin far outweigh the negatives. The Uinta Basin Railway project must be built if we are going to move towards more sustainable and careful energy use. Please consider my support and approve this project.