A federal judge in Washington, D.C., has ruled that the Trump administration failed to follow proper environmental procedures when it granted approval to the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline project.
It’s a legal victory for the Standing Rock Sioux tribe and environmentalists, who protested for months against the pipeline.
The tribe fears that the pipeline, which crosses the Missouri River just upstream of their reservation, could contaminate their drinking water and sacred lands.
This ruling does not order a halt to pipeline operations.
But it opens the door to that possibility.
The judge writes that the standard remedy in this situation would be to vacate the pipeline’s permits and easement, thereby halting pipeline operations until the Army Corps is in compliance with environmental procedures.
We applaud the courts for protecting our laws and regulations from undue political influence and will ask the Court to shut down pipeline operations immediately."
As we have previously reported, "during President Trump’s first month in office, he reversed a decision by the Obama administration and called on the Army to expedite the approval process for the section of the pipeline that had not yet been built."
Energy Transfer Partners, the pipeline company, has not commented on Wednesday’s ruling.
The first argued that "the grading and clearing of land for the pipeline threatened sites of cultural and historical significance," while the second contended that the oil in the pipeline under a lake significant to the tribe "would desecrate sacred waters and make it impossible for the Tribes to freely exercise their religious beliefs."