Federal Judge Rules Against Dakota Access Pipeline

Despite oil already flowing through the Dakota Access Pipeline, a federal judge ruled Wednesday against the Army Corps of Engineers, ordering the Corps to reconsider aspects of their environmental review that led to the project moving forward.

Protests against the pipeline consumed the nation through much of 2016. Concerns centered on the potential for an oil spill in Lake Oahe and the Missouri River to poison the water supply and ruin fishing and hunting for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, whose reservation borders the pipeline path.

When President Trump took office he swiftly changed the federal government’s position on the pipeline, ordering the Army Corps to issue the necessary permits for the final section of the pipeline to be completed. Construction began immediately and oil began flowing in the pipeline June 1.

Now, the Seattle Times reports, U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg for the District of Columbia has ruled that the Army Corps did not adequately consider three crucial issues in their environmental review. In his 91-page decision he argued that the Army Corps "did not adequately consider the impacts of an oil spill on the tribe’s fishing rights, hunting rights, or issues of environmental justice when it issued the permits needed to complete the project."

Still to be decided is whether the judge will order that oil stop flowing through the pipeline while the Army Corps reconsiders these issues.

The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, who brought the suit, are calling this a significant, if potentially temporary, victory. Energy Transfer Partners, who own and operate the pipeline, declined to comment for the article, but have argued that "the pipeline is safe and preferable to either tanker trucks or oil trains for the transport of an essential commodity."

Should oil flow through the pipeline be stopped while the Army Corps of Engineers completes their reconsideration? Use the Take Action button to tell your reps what you think!

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— Asha Sanaker

(Photo Credit: Wikimedia / Creative Commons)