A significant opinion involving the Dakota Access Pipeline was
issued July 6 in Standing Rock Sioux Tribe v. United States
Army Corps of Engineers, Case No. 1:16-cv-01535 pending in the
United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
The decision vacated the Dakota Access pipeline easement running
beneath Lake Oahe during a remand for development of an
environmental impact statement (“EIS”) and ordered that
Dakota Access shut down the pipeline by August 5, 2020.
In a prior opinion, the District Court found that the Army Corps
of Engineers (the “Corps”) violated the National
Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”) in determining that
an EIS for the pipeline easement running under Lake Oahe was
unnecessary. Because of this, the matter was remanded for
completion of an EIS.
