Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, et al v U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, et al
14 June 2017
United District Court for the District of Columbia
Civil Action No. 16-1534 (JEB)
Date: 14 June 2017
Judge: James E. Boasberg
In this matter, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe argued that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers failed to consider the environmental impact of the proposed Dakota Access Pipeline project before granting permits for the construction and operation of the pipeline under Lake Oahe. The Court agreed that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers did not adequately consider the impacts of an oil spill on fishing rights, hunting rights, or environmental justice, or the degree to which the pipeline’s effects are likely to be highly controversial. To remedy those violations, the Corps will have to reconsider those sections of its environmental analysis upon remand by the Court. Whether Dakota Access must cease pipeline operations during that remand presents a separate question of the appropriate remedy, which will be the subject of further briefing.