Amicus Brief in Supreme Court Case on the Consideration of Downstream Costs in NEPA Analyses

The document advocates for a broad interpretation of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), arguing that agencies must analyze indirect environmental impacts beyond proximate effects, specifically in the context of a Surface Transportation Board decision regarding a railway in Utah's Uinta Basin.

• The D.C. Circuit ruled that the Surface Transportation Board's environmental review for a proposed oil railway in Utah's Uinta Basin was insufficient because it did not account for indirect effects, such as increased pollution and drilling in the Gulf Coast resulting from higher refinery operations and crude oil influx.
• The Supreme Court is reviewing whether the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) mandates that agencies study environmental impacts that extend beyond the proximate effects of an action within the agency's regulatory authority.
• The Institute for Policy Integrity contends that NEPA should be interpreted, consistent with established precedent, to compel agencies to evaluate effects that are reasonably foreseeable.

APA

Institute for Policy Integrity (n.d.). Amicus Brief in Supreme Court Case on the Consideration of Downstream Costs in NEPA Analyses. https://policyintegrity.org/projects/stb

Chicago

Institute for Policy Integrity. Amicus Brief in Supreme Court Case on the Consideration of Downstream Costs in NEPA Analyses. n.d. https://policyintegrity.org/projects/stb.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Policy Integrity |title=Amicus Brief in Supreme Court Case on the Consideration of Downstream Costs in NEPA Analyses |url=https://policyintegrity.org/projects/stb |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforpolicyintegrityndamicus, author = {{Institute for Policy Integrity}}, title = {{Amicus Brief in Supreme Court Case on the Consideration of Downstream Costs in NEPA Analyses}}, institution = {Institute for Policy Integrity}, url = {https://policyintegrity.org/projects/stb}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }