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Federal officials on Thursday gave final approval for the Dakota Access oil pipeline to continue operating its contentious Missouri River crossing, a decision tied to a long-running legal and regulatory dispute that began in the wake of protests in North Dakota more than a decade ago. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers granted the key easement, allowing the pipeline to keep running but with added conditions focused on leak detection and monitoring of groundwater and other water impacts.
The Corps said the easement decision “means the pipeline will keep operating but with added conditions for detecting leaks and monitoring groundwater,” according to Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Adam Telle. Telle said the Corps was “decisively putting years of delays to rest and moving out to safely execute this crossing beneath Lake Oahe.”
The Missouri River segment approved by the Corps crosses the river upstream from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s reservation, which straddles the Dakotas. The tribe has said it has long opposed the pipeline, fearing spills and contamination of its water supply, and thousands of people camped and protested near the crossing site during 2016 and 2017.
The approval comes as the pipeline’s broader regulatory saga continues to ripple through federal court. The Corps’ decision “brings an end to a drawn-out legal and regulatory saga,” the Associated Press reported, but it added that further litigation over the pipeline is likely.
Energy Transfer and Enbridge, the pipeline developer and related project partners, framed the Corps action as a step toward stability for the infrastructure. Energy Transfer said the pipeline has been safely operating for nearly 10 years and that it remains critical to the country’s energy infrastructure, while a company spokesperson said the group wanted “to thank the Corps for the tremendous amount of time and effort put in by so many to bring this matter to a thoughtful close,” according to the Associated Press report.
Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Chairman Steve Sitting Bear said the tribe would continue challenging the decision in court and said it would evaluate legal and political options to protect what it described as treaty rights and water. Sitting Bear said the tribe will “evaluate all legal and political options to defend our Treaty rights, protect Mni Wiconi - Water of Life, and hold the Federal government and private corporations accountable to the highest standards of environmental stewardship and Tribal consultation,” the Associated Press reported.
Court and regulatory review of the crossing followed protests that included hundreds of arrests and related criminal cases, along with lawsuits that have remained active in various forms, according to the report. The litigation, the report said, has included cases that have threatened the future of the environmental group Greenpeace.
In December, the Corps released its final environmental impact statement nearly six years after a federal judge ordered a more rigorous review of the pipeline’s crossing. The Associated Press report said the Corps endorsed granting the easement for the crossing and keeping the pipeline operating with modifications, including enhanced leak detection and monitoring systems, expanded monitoring of groundwater and surface water, third-party expert evaluation of leak and detection systems, and water supply contingency planning and other studies coordinated with affected tribes.
The Corps said it had considered multiple options, including removing or abandoning the river crossing or rerouting it north, before concluding that its chosen path “best balances public safety, protection of environmental resources, and leak detection and response considerations while meeting the project’s purpose and need.” A Corps official also said the decision was “informed by public input and government-to-government consultation with Tribes,” according to the Associated Press report.