The Department of Transportation wants to partner with Elon Musk to build a high-speed Hyperloop crossing several states, including Wyoming and Colorado, to accommodate daily commuters between various cities.

The Department of Transportation wants to partner with Elon Musk to build a high-speed Hyperloop crossing several states, including Wyoming and Colorado, to accommodate daily commuters between various cities. The Department dutifully prepares an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), which considers all the environmental effects, possible alternatives, and the costs and benefits of completing the project. There are several alternatives, including flying and high-speed bullet trains, which could transport large numbers of people across difficult terrain over such great distances. Nevertheless, the EIS concludes that the project will not have an overall negative effect on the environment. An activist group called Don’t Mess with Colorado (DMWC) would like to intervene under NEPA §102(2) (c) to force the EPA to stop the plan because they believe that the environmental impact outweighs the purported benefits. How would a court respond? Be sure to include discussion of the substantive/procedural debate about NEPA.