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US District Court orders Dakota Access Pipeline shutdown, emptied
Stephen Sorace
2-2 minutes
A federal judge ordered the shutdown of the Dakota Access Pipeline and it be emptied, while a lengthy environmental review is conducted.
The pipeline must be emptied by August 5, the court ordered Monday, after finding that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers violated “the National Environmental Policy Act when it granted an easement” for the pipeline’s construction and operation of crude-oil running beneath Lake Oahe.
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg wrote in a 24-page order that he was “mindful of the disruption such a shutdown will cause,” but said he had concluded that the pipeline must be shut down.
“Clear precedent favoring vacatur during such a remand coupled with the seriousness of the Corps’ deficiencies outweighs the negative effects of halting the oil flow for the thirteen months that the Corps believes the creation of an EIS will take,” Boasberg wrote.
The environmental review for the pipeline, which has been in operation for three years, must be completed within 30 days, according to the judge's order.
The decision comes after the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe requested the pipeline be shut down for fear of environmental harm.
The pipeline sparked months of protests, sometimes violent, during its construction near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation that straddles the North Dakota-South Dakota border.
Jan Hasselman, an attorney for the Standing Rock tribe, tweeted news of Boasberg's ruling and said: “Stunning.”
This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.
US District Court orders Dakota Access Pipeline shutdown, emptied
Stephen Sorace
2-2 minutes
A federal judge ordered the shutdown of the Dakota Access Pipeline and it be emptied, while a lengthy environmental review is conducted.
The pipeline must be emptied by August 5, the court ordered Monday, after finding that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers violated “the National Environmental Policy Act when it granted an easement” for the pipeline’s construction and operation of crude-oil running beneath Lake Oahe.
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg wrote in a 24-page order that he was “mindful of the disruption such a shutdown will cause,” but said he had concluded that the pipeline must be shut down.
“Clear precedent favoring vacatur during such a remand coupled with the seriousness of the Corps’ deficiencies outweighs the negative effects of halting the oil flow for the thirteen months that the Corps believes the creation of an EIS will take,” Boasberg wrote.
The environmental review for the pipeline, which has been in operation for three years, must be completed within 30 days, according to the judge's order.
The decision comes after the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe requested the pipeline be shut down for fear of environmental harm.
The pipeline sparked months of protests, sometimes violent, during its construction near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation that straddles the North Dakota-South Dakota border.
Jan Hasselman, an attorney for the Standing Rock tribe, tweeted news of Boasberg's ruling and said: “Stunning.”
This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.