Court Orders Work Suspended On Dakota Access Pipeline Pending Environmental Impact Statement

A federal judge on Monday ordered the Dakota Access pipeline shut down within a month, ruling the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had failed to issue the mandatory environmental impact report necessary for the project to proceed.

The pipeline was strongly opposed by the various Sioux tribes, who waged a court battle and staged protests to block construction.

“Fearing severe environmental consequences, American Indian tribes on nearby reservations have sought for several years to invalidate federal permits allowing the Dakota Access Pipeline to carry oil under the lake. Today they finally achieve that goal -- at least for the time being,” U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg wrote in ordering the shutdown. The case was brought in federal court in the District of Columbia.

The pipeline was to run beneath Lake Oahe along the Missouri River in South Dakota.

Boasberg found the Army corps had violated the National Environmental Policy Act when it granted permits to Dakota Access LLC for construction of a portion of the pipeline beneath the lake. Construction of the pipeline was suspended for at least the 13 months it will take the Army corps to issue an environmental impact statement.

Construction of the pipeline has been suspended several times amid petitions filed by Native American tribes fearing the environmental damage it could cause in the event of a leak. In response to arguments shutting down the pipeline would cause significant economic harm, Boasberg wrote:

“The court does not take lightly the serious effects that a DAPL [Dakota Access pipeline] shutdown could have for many states, companies, and workers. Losing jobs and revenue, particularly in a highly uncertain economic environment, is no small burden. Ultimately, however, these effects do not tip the scales decisively in favor of remanding without vacatur.”

The Missouri River is the main source of drinking water for more than 17 million people downstream from the pipeline. Energy Transfer Partners (ET) has a history of spills and other environmental violations.

Boasberg said accepting arguments against shutting down the pipeline would “subvert” the intent of the National Environmental Policy Act.

The ruling came one day after Dominion Energy (D) and Duke Energy (DUK) announced they were pulling the plug on the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. Work on the Keystone XL pipeline also has been disrupted by court orders.

“Our lands, waters and way of life remain at risk with each passing day that the dangerous oil pipeline remains in operation,” Standing Rock Sioux Chairman Mike Faith said in a recent op-ed for The Hill.

Energy Transfer took steps last week to prevent oil companies from pulling out of commitments to the Dakota Access pipeline, invoking force majeure, which normally is used only for natural disasters or in times of war. Some companies have been saying expansion of the pipeline no longer is necessary because of the coronavirus pandemic, which has reduced oil production in North Dakota by about a third compared with last year.

“Honestly, DAPL is not needed,” one customer, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters. “They’re trying to build a house that all these people signed up for. Even if there’s no longer a need for the house, you can’t really walk away from it. Would I like to get out? Yes, for sure.”