FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE SALT LAKE CITY, UT — Estonian state-owned oil shale company Enefit American Oil is abandoning its lease to mine oil shale on federal public land in northeastern Utah’s Uinta Basin. The decision marks the end of the George W. Bush-era federal oil shale leasing program and came just weeks before a settlement agreement […]
The Grand Canyon Trust and Deseret Power signed a settlement agreement over a sizable water right (15 cubic-feet per second, or 3.5 billion gallons per year). Deseret Power acquired the water right from Enefit American Oil Co., an Estonian state-owned oil shale company aiming to build a massive oil shale mining and processing facility in northern […]
The Estonian state-owned oil shale company, Enefit American Oil, relinquished a preliminary lease to research the commercial viability of mining and producing oil shale on public land in northeastern Utah. Enefit has proposed a massive development on 13,000 acres of private land and 4,960 acres of federal public land in the Uinta Basin. By relinquishing its 160-acre […]
In November 2021, the Grand Canyon Trust filed a protest with the Utah Division of Water Rights arguing it is unlawful for Deseret Power to hold onto a nearly 10-million-gallon-per-day water right on the Green River ostensibly for electricity generation when in fact a deal with Estonian-owned oil shale company Enefit shows that Deseret Power […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE SALT LAKE CITY, UT — The Trump administration pushed forward today with leasing tar sands across 2,100 acres of public lands in northeastern Utah near the Green River, updating a plan from 2013 just weeks before leaving office. Producing fuel from tar sands generates up to twice the climate pollution and requires […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE BONANZA, UT — Conservation groups today sued the Trump administration to challenge what would be the nation’s first commercial-scale oil shale mine and processing facility. The lawsuit says officials failed to protect several endangered species when they approved rights-of-way across public lands to provide utilities to the proposed oil shale development. High […]
A lawsuit challenges the decision to green light a massive oil shale development in Utah. See a map of the project › Download a PDF of this complaint ›
Enefit American Oil’s South Project oil shale development could put endangered fish in the Colorado River Basin at risk. Download your copy ›
Estonian-owned Enefit American Oil wants to build the first commercial-scale oil shale processing plant and strip mine in the United States in northeast Utah. Location of the Enefit South Project oil shale development Download your copy › Detailed map of the Enefit oil shale development Download your copy ›
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE SALT LAKE CITY, UT— Conservation groups today issued a notice of intent to sue the Trump administration for approving rights-of-way for pipelines and powerlines that pave the way for the nation’s first commercial oil shale development. The massive Enefit project in Utah’s Uinta Basin would drain billions of gallons of water from […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE SALT LAKE CITY, UT — Conservation groups today formally opposed the Trump administration’s plan to facilitate the first commercial oil shale development in the United States, a massive Utah project that would generate enormous greenhouse gas and deadly ozone pollution in regions already exceeding federal air-pollution standards. The Bureau of Land Management […]
Read the comments submitted by the Grand Canyon Trust and partners regarding the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Enefit American Oil Utility Corridor Project. Download the full comments ›
678,000 acres of federal land in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming are available for potential oil shale development and another 132,000 acres for tar sands development. View the map › Download your copy ›
This map shows land leased for oil shale and tar sands development on the eastern side of Utah and the western side of Colorado. Download your copy ›
Read the court’s decision on a challenge submitted by multiple plaintiffs, including the Grand Canyon Trust, to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for omitting two flowers from the threatened or endangered lists under the Endangered Species Act. Download the complete text ›
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE “Conservation Agreement” Inadequate to Address Threats from Uinta Basin Energy Development DENVER—A federal court yesterday ruled in favor of conservation groups in their challenge to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision to deny Endangered Species Act protection to two imperiled wildflowers that live only on oil shale formations in Colorado and […]
This map shows Enefit American’s oil shale rights of way, as well as oil shale and tar sands deposits in northeastern Utah. Download your copy ›
Read the comments submitted on behalf of the Grand Canyon Trust and others regarding the Enefit American Oil Utility Corridor Project Draft Environmental Impact Statement. Download the PDF ›
Read the letter sent to the Environmental Protection Agency regarding the Enefit American Oil Utility Corridor Project Draft Environmental Impact Statement.Download the PDF ›
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE SALT LAKE CITY— The Bureau of Land Management announced this week that it is moving toward allowing dirty oil shale development that could be a double whammy for the environment, unleashing nearly a half a billion tons of greenhouse gases and consuming vast amounts Colorado River basin water. It would be the […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Flagstaff, Arizona—On Wednesday, June 10, 2015, more than 100 prominent scientists from across North America, including climate scientists, economists, geophysicists, and biologists, released a consensus statement entitled “Ten Reasons for a Moratorium” that shows why Canada and the United States should postpone new tar sands development – known as “oil sands” in […]
The following story was produced in 2015. Therefore, some content may be out-of-date or missing. We are in the process of updating this product. View Full Screen Map ›
More than 800,000 acres of federal public lands in the Colorado River Basin have been allocated by the Bureau of Land Management as available for oil shale and tar sands leasing. View the map › Download the PDF ›
Map of the tar sands triangle in the Greater Canyonlands Region. View the map › Download the PDF ›
