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Utah Supreme Court rules against environmentalists over refinery expansion

Posted at 4:46 PM, Jun 22, 2017
and last updated 2017-06-22 18:46:32-04

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Supreme Court has ruled against environmental groups seeking to block a Woods Cross refinery from expanding.

In a ruling handed down this week, the state’s top court rejected the lawsuit brought by Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment and Friends of the Great Salt Lake against Utah’s Department of Environmental Quality.

The Holly Refinery in Woods Cross (photo by Ben Winslow, FOX 13 News)

In arguments last year, the environmental groups sought to challenge the permit granted to Holly Refinery to expand. In the ruling, Utah Supreme Court Justice Thomas Lee said this was similar to another lawsuit the groups brought challenging Tesoro’s refinery expansion.

“We reaffirm our decision in Utah Physicians I. And we dismiss the petition for review in this case for reasons set forth in our decision in that case,” he wrote.

Read the Utah Supreme Court opinion here: