The Biden administration clarified its position on the Dakota Access Pipeline by telling a federal court May 3 that no information has come to light to warrant shutting down the 1,170-mile 4-year-old crude oil pipeline while additional environmental studies are performed.
The administration had left its position unclear during a status teleconference Apr. 9, when it did not fully explain its policy position and gave the impression that its judgment was a day-by-day matter (OGJ Online, Apr. 12, 2021).
Judge James Boasberg of the US District Court for the District of Columbia asked the administration for an update on the studies and, if possible, clarification of position on the plaintiffs’ injunction request.
That led to the May 3 filing by the US Army Corps of Engineers in which it said its opposition to an injunction had not changed since it addressed the issue at length Nov. 20. It also said an environmental impact statement (EIS) should be completed in March 2022.
“As to whether an injunction should issue, the EIS process in which the Corps is currently engaged examines many factors including some that may be relevant to the permanent injunction standard,” the Corps said.
“It is possible that in the EIS process the Corps would find new information, but to date the Corps is not aware of information that would cause it to evaluate the injunction factors differently than in its previous filing,” the Corps said.
More decisions coming
The case is Standing Rock Sioux Tribe v. US Army Corps of Engineers. The tribe continues to seek an injunction to shut the pipeline down.
Boasberg in 2020 vacated the easement allowing the line to pass under the Missouri River and ordered the line shut down. The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, while overruling the shutdown order Jan. 26, agreed with Boasberg that the Corps needed to complete an EIS because its environmental assessment on the pipeline plan was inadequate.
That still leaves Boasberg with the need to make a decision on the injunction request.
Energy Transfer LP, operator of the pipeline, reportedly will petition the US Supreme Court to rule on whether the appeals court made the right decision on the need for an EIS.
Energy Transfer operates the pipeline through its unit Dakota Access LLC. In operation since June 2017, the line carries 570,000 b/d of crude oil from North Dakota to a pipeline hub at Patoka, Ill. Connections there take the oil as far as the Gulf Coast.
Disappointed advocates
Environmental law firm Earthjustice, which represents the lead plaintiff in this case, issued a statement May 3 lamenting that the Biden administration has gone on record as “not merely taking no action to shut down the pipeline, but actively opposing taking the line out of operation.”
Earthjustice attorney Jan Hasselman noted Biden’s efforts to address climate change and his promise to be more sensitive to concerns of tribes.
“Given all this, it’s baffling that when it comes to the Dakota Access Pipeline, Biden’s Army Corps is standing in the way of justice for Standing Rock,” Hasselman said.
