Standing Rock Sioux Tribe v. US Army Corps of Eng'rs: District Court Orders Temporary Shutdown of Dakota Access Pipeline | Practical Law

Standing Rock Sioux Tribe v. US Army Corps of Eng'rs: District Court Orders Temporary Shutdown of Dakota Access Pipeline | Practical Law

On July 6, 2020, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia vacated an easement granted by the US Army Corps of Engineers that allowed a segment of the Dakota Access pipeline to be built beneath Lake Oahe in North Dakota and South Dakota. The Court also ordered that the pipeline be shut down within 30 days of the decision.

Standing Rock Sioux Tribe v. US Army Corps of Eng'rs: District Court Orders Temporary Shutdown of Dakota Access Pipeline

by Practical Law Finance
Published on 07 Jul 2020 • USA (National/Federal)
On July 6, 2020, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia vacated an easement granted by the US Army Corps of Engineers that allowed a segment of the Dakota Access pipeline to be built beneath Lake Oahe in North Dakota and South Dakota. The Court also ordered that the pipeline be shut down within 30 days of the decision.
On July 6, 2020, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia (District Court) vacated an easement granted by the US Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) that allowed Dakota Access LLC to build a segment of the pipeline beneath Lake Oahe in North Dakota and South Dakota ( (D.D.C. Jul. 6, 2020).

Background

In 2016, former President Barack Obama denied permits to allow the US Army Corps (Corps) to build the DAPL, a 1,200-mile oil pipeline beginning in North Dakota. The Corps then announced their intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). After President Donald Trump took office in 2017 and issued a presidential memorandum encouraging the construction of the DAPL, the Corps decided not to prepare an EIS (82 Fed. Reg. 11129). The Corps notified Congress of this decision and an easement for the project was granted.
The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe (Standing Rock), together with Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, filed suit seeking summary judgment arguing that the Corps was required to prepare an EIS under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) which requires federal agencies to prepare an environmental analysis for major federal actions that have the potential to significantly impact the environment. The court largely upheld the Corps' decision, but found three violations warranting remand (Standing Rock Sioux Tribe v. US Army Corps of Eng'rs, 255 F. Supp. 3d at 101 (D.D.C. 2017)). In March 2020, the District Court found that the Corps violated NEPA and directed it to prepare an EIS ( (D.D.C. Mar. 25, 2020)).

Decision

The District Court vacated the Corps' decision to grant the easement and ordered that the DAPL be shut down and emptied by August 5, 2020 to conduct a more thorough environmental review. While cognizant of the disruptions the shutdown may cause to the project and the oil industry, the court found that:
"given the seriousness of the Corps' NEPA error, the impossibility of a simple fix, the fact that Dakota Access did assume much of its economic risk knowingly, and the potential harm each day the pipeline operates, the Court is forced to conclude that the flow of oil must cease."
The process is expected to take more than a year. Dakota Access LLC filed a an emergency motion to stay the ruling but it was denied. According to the developer it will take more than a month to empty the pipeline.
The $3.7 billion pipeline began commercial operations in 2017 and can transport about 570,000 barrels of crude oil a day.
For more information on the DAPL, see Practice Note, Trump Administration Energy and Climate Change Policies and Regulations: 2017 and 2018 Tracker. For more information on NEPA reviews, see Practice Notes, Environmental Law: Overview and Environmental Impact Review: Overview.