Earth Protect Blog

Shared from the 3/26/2020 The Denver Post eEdition

FARGO, N.D. » A federal judge on Wednesday ordered the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to conduct a full environmental review of the Dakota Access pipeline, nearly three years after it began carrying oil despite protests by people who gathered in North Dakota for more than a year.

U.S. District Judge James Boas-berg wrote that the easement approval for the pipeline remains “highly controversial” under federal environmental law, and a more extensive review is necessary than the environmental assessment that was done.

Standing Rock chairman Mike Faith called it a “significant legal win” and said it’s humbling that the protests continue to “inspire national conversations” about the environment.

Officials with the Corps and Energy Transfer, which owns the pipeline, did not respond to phone messages. Craig Stevens, spokesman for the GAIN Coalition, a group that supports large infrastructure projects, said the decision could jeopardize the nation’s economic and energy security.

“This is a stunning decision that flies in the face of decades of widely accepted practice,” Stevens said in a statement. — The Associated Press