The Supreme Court seemed to favor a Utah oil railroad expansion in arguments on Tuesday, but appeared more skeptical of putting strict new limits on a key national environmental law. The justices were weighing a multibillion-dollar project that could quadruple oil production in the remote area of sandstone and sagebrush.

The U.S. Supreme Court appeared inclined on Tuesday to limit the extent to which federal agencies must review the environmental impact of projects they regulate in a dispute over a proposed railway in Utah meant to carry crude oil that was challenged by environmental groups and a Colorado county.

The Supreme Court justices will weigh the fate of an 88-mile railroad project that would transport crude oil in Utah as they consider a dispute over whether federal officials conducted a stringent enough environmental review before approving it.