It’s Thursday, March 26, and a federal court just delivered a major setback for the Dakota Access Pipeline.
A federal judge on Wednesday ordered a new environmental review for the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline, a significant victory for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.
U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg found that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which granted permits for the pipeline, violated the National Environmental Policy Act by not conducting a thorough review of the risks of a major oil spill or determining if the pipeline’s leak detection system was sufficient.
The pipeline, which has been carrying oil for roughly three years, has long been opposed by environmental and indigenous groups, especially the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, whose reservation is less than a mile away from the pipeline. The tribe has expressed concerns about a spill that would pollute sacred sites and the Missouri River, which the tribe depends on for drinking water and fishing. President Trump ordered the Army Corps of Engineers to issue the permits for the pipeline shortly after he took office.
“After years of commitment to defending our water and earth, we welcome this news of a significant legal win,” Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Chairman Mike Faith said in a statement. “It’s humbling to see how actions we took four years ago to defend our ancestral homeland continue to inspire national conversations about how our choices ultimately affect this planet.”
The Smog
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