The Army said Tuesday it will abandon an environmental study of the Dakota Access Pipeline and grant a permit that allows its completion, according to
The decision follows an executive action from President Donald Trump that sought to resume construction on the 1,172-mile oil pipeline despite objections from a Native American tribe living near its path in North Dakota and a halt ordered by former President Barack Obama last year.
The status of the the pipeline has been in limbo for months, though construction on the North Dakota-to-Illinois route by Energy Transfer Partners is nearly complete.
The Standing Rock Sioux have fought the project for months, arguing it threatens the water source for their reservation, disturbs sacred ground and violates a 19th century treaty with the federal government.
Months of protests on the Great Plains by the Standing Rock Sioux and their supporters led the Department of the Army to order an environmental impact statement in December before making a final decision. At the time, Army Corps of Engineers officials also said they’d look at options for re-routing the line away from the Sioux land
Energy Transfer Partners has argued that it’s safer to carry the crude oil from North Dakota to Illinois through its $3.8-billion pipeline than on trucks and trains. It also claims Obama wrongly intervened in the project before he left office Jan. 20.
Additional court battles are likely after the Army’s decision. Lawyers for the Standing Rock Sioux had vowed to challenge any move that allows pipeline construction underneath the Lake Oahe reservoir.
Completion of the Dakota Access Pipeline was a major campaign promise of Trump, who argued it would create jobs. Trump, who owned stock in the companies developing the pipeline, issued a memorandum last month that ordered the Army to study whether it could lift the stoppage imposed during the Obama administration.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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