On Tuesday, the Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from the developers of the Dakota Access. The court will allow the lower court ruling which called for a more thorough environmental review to stand.
In July 2020 a district court ruled that a federal permit granted to Energy Transfer was in violation of the National Environmental Policy Act. According to the Associated Press, Energy Transfer asked the Supreme Court to reverse that decision, claiming the lower court's ruling would put the pipeline at a significant risk of being shut down.
The Supreme Court's decision Tuesday was welcomed by environmentalist groups, but it renewed calls to stop the project until the new environmental review is complete.
Earthjustice attorney Jan Hasselman said in a statement that the litigation was over, but the fight continues.
Activists and members of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe have spoken out against the 1,134-mile Dakota Access Pipeline, which is intended to transport crude from the Bakken oil fields in northwest North Dakota. The heart of the issue is a 2-mile segment of the pipeline that runs underneath Lake Oahe, crossing about half a mile north of the Standing Rock reservation. Opponents of the project worry that a leak or spill could taint the tribe's primary water source. Members of the Standing Rock tribe claim that the nearby sacred burial sites could be damaged or destroyed.
The lower court's ruling in 2020 was in response to a lawsuit filed by the Standing Rock tribe. In the first weeks of the Trump presidency, construction efforts were resumed, thanks to an executive memo aimed at speeding up the project.
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