Center for Biological Diversity

The owner of the water rights indicated that they will refile at a future date. Protesters who paid the $15 fee will not get their money back, and comments will not carry over to any future applications.

Opponents are filing grievances with the Division of Water Rights. The state engineer will consider those and might hold a hearing before deciding whether to approve the water right’s change of use.

The announcement won praise from Western Republican lawmakers while drawing criticism from environmental groups that see the move as an attempt to dismantle the agency. Federal officials say the change puts leaders closer to the forests they manage.

The lawsuit argues the approval of the highway near St. George breaks multiple federal laws, including the act that established the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area.

It's the third proposed coal sale from public lands in the West to fall through this month despite President Donald Trump’s efforts to boost production of the fuel.

In an 8-0 decision with Justice Neil Gorsuch recused, the court endorsed a limited interpretation of environmental reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act.

The Center for Biological Diversity sued in 2023 and secured a settlement last year that forced the government to decide by May whether to list the fish under the Endangered Species Act.

“Utah remains able and willing to challenge any BLM land management decisions that harm Utah,” state leadership said in a statement.

The case is about more than Utah’s long-fought oil train project. It’s become a test case, with many interested parties, over the future of environmental review.

The Interior Department rule finalized Friday raises royalty rates for oil drilling by more than one-third, to 16.67%, in accordance with the sweeping 2022 climate law approved by Congress.

The Bureau of Reclamation released a draft plan for releases from Glen Canyon Dam, which holds back Lake Powell. It's an effort to protect the Colorado River's native humpback chub from smallmouth bass.

The decision follows an August U.S. appeals court ruling that struck down a critical approval involving the Uinta Basin Railway. The proposed 88-mile railroad line would connect oil and gas producers in rural Utah to the broader rail network and larger markets.