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On Monday, a federal judge ordered the Dakota Access pipeline shut down after finding that the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review already performed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was insufficient.
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg wrote in the order, "...given the seriousness of the Corps’ NEPA error... and the potential harm each day the pipeline operates, the Court is forced to conclude that the flow of oil must cease."
The significant legal order, a day after two energy companies abandoned their bid to build the controversial Atlantic Coast Pipeline, serves as another setback to President Trump's "energy dominance" agenda. The order demonstrates the legal liability that companies face as a result of the Trump administration's aggressive environmental rollbacks and anti-regulation agenda. It may also challenge the legal footing for Trump's plan to overhaul NEPA, which is opposed by 94 percent of public comments.
The Dakota Access pipeline was raised into the public consciousness by months of protests in 2016 and 2017, during which activists from across the country joined the Standing Rock Sioux and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribes to stand against the pipeline's construction. The pipeline crosses beneath the tribe's water source (the Missouri River), leading to fears of pollution.
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Today is a historic day for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and the many people who have supported us in the fight against the pipeline. This pipeline should have never been built here. We told them that from the beginning.”
