A state commission has agreed to provide a $21.4 million grant to a multicounty coalition for a proposed new 80-mile (129-kilometer) rail route to haul crude oil from eastern Utah to existing Union Pacific tracks northwest of Price in Carbon County.
The Community Impact Board on Thursday approved the funding for the Seven County Infrastructure Coalition for planning and environmental reviews.
Supports say the planned Uinta Basin Railway would help Uintah and Duchesne counties develop their energy-dependent economies and reduce tanker traffic on highways.
The coalition has contracted with the investment bank Drexel Hamilton, which will commit between $5 million and $15 million of its own funds, to raise private capital, commercialize the project and secure a partner to operate the rail line.