Not all breaking news today relates to the pandemic.
In Court orders full environmental review of Dakota Access Pipeline, the Bismarck Tribune's Amy Sisk and Blake Nicholson report:
A federal judge ordered the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to complete an extensive environmental review of the Dakota Access Pipeline in a ruling issued Wednesday, nearly four years after the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe sued the agency over the project.
“Unrebutted expert critiques regarding leak-detection systems, operator safety records, adverse conditions, and worst-case discharge mean that the easement approval remains ‘highly controversial’” under federal environmental law, U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg wrote.
The judge based in Washington, D.C., added that “the Court thus cannot find that the Corps has adequately discharged its duties” and that he will require the agency to complete a full Environmental Impact Statement. That is a much more stringent review than the Environmental Assessment the Corps completed earlier. Such a study can take up to two years to complete, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
It’s unknown whether the pipeline will be allowed to continue operating in the meantime. Boasberg plans to order the parties involved in the lawsuit to submit briefs arguing whether the federal pipeline easement should remain active while the agency conducts the environmental review.
Standing Rock Chairman Mike Faith called the ruling "a significant legal win."
“It’s humbling to see how actions we took four years ago to defend our ancestral homeland continue to inspire national conversations about how our choices ultimately affect this planet," he said in a statement. "Perhaps in the wake of this court ruling the federal government will begin to catch on, too, starting by actually listening to us when we voice our concerns.”
<p">The ruling comes as pipeline developer Energy Transfer plans an expansion of the pipeline’s existing 570,000-barrel-per-day capacity. The company seeks to nearly double the amount of oil flowing through the pipeline to 1.1 million barrels per day. It secured approval from North Dakota regulators for the expansion in February. . . .
Read the rest at the Bismarck Tribune.
The reaction from indigenous and environmental leaders on twitter was joyous:
OMG!!! Today a federal judge ordered the US Army Corps of Engineers to complete an extensive environmental review of the Dakota Access Pipeline! Next up: The judge will determine whether the pipeline should continue to operate during the review. #NoDAPL https://t.co/OssRdUXBWu
— R u t h H o p k i n s (@RuthH_Hopkins) March 25, 2020
BREAKING! @StandingRockST
— Dallas Goldtooth (@dallasgoldtooth) March 25, 2020
just got a win! Federal judge has just struck down DAPL permits and ordered a full EIS! Exactly what the tribe has been asking for all along! #NoDAPL https://t.co/K3FiI9EVW7
BREAKING: Today, a federal court ruled that The Dakota Access Pipeline (#DAPL) must undergo further environmental & social review. This is a huge win for #StandingRock, @Earthjustice and the National Environmental Policy Act (#NEPA). #SaveNEPA #NoDAPL https://t.co/mD5VitLhQV
— NRDC 🌎🏡 (@NRDC) March 25, 2020
"After years of commitment to defending our water and earth, we welcome this news of a significant legal win," said @StandingRockST Chairman Mike Faith. https://t.co/ybPmtQWdsW #NoDAPL #DAPL @Earthjustice
— Common Dreams (@commondreams) March 25, 2020
We'll follow this development for our readers.
Photo: Flags fly at the Oceti Sakowin Camp in 2016, near Cannonball, North Dakota. Lucas Zhao / CC BY-NC 2.0
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