Groups sue to stop oil truck route near Nine Mile Canyon rock art

Three environmental and preservation groups have sued the Bureau of Land Management and the Interior Department to stop a road project that could send up to 500 heavy trucks a day near Nine Mile Canyon, The Salt Lake Tribune reported. The canyon in eastern Utah is known for its ancient rock art. ^[1]

The Nine Mile Canyon Coalition, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance and Center for Biological Diversity filed the suit Oct. 6 in federal court in Utah, according to the Tribune. The project would realign and pave 5.3 miles of Wells Draw Road in Gate Canyon, giving Uinta Basin oil fields a more direct route to rail facilities in Carbon County. Duchesne County has also said the change would make the road safer. ^[1]

The BLM approved a Duchesne County special service district's plan on April 28 after finding it would not significantly affect the environment, the newspaper reported. The groups argue the agency broke several federal laws, including the National Environmental Policy Act and the National Historic Preservation Act, and approved the plan without identifying historic sites that an earlier draft review had listed near the road. ^[1] The BLM's Vernal Field Office announced on April 28 that it had signed a decision record amending the right-of-way for Duchesne County Special Service District #2 to realign and pave a portion of County Road 32 in Gate Canyon. The agency said 2.8 miles of the route and one parking area are on BLM land, and the rest is on Utah Trust Lands Administration land. ^[2]

"It's like constructing a highway through the Louvre Museum," coalition President J. Michael Hansen said in a statement. A BLM spokesperson declined to comment, and the federal government had not yet responded in court, the Tribune reported. ^[1]