The Dakota Access Pipeline has again stalled what could have been a significant shutdown. Judges decided the government must determine if the link can function while an extensive evaluation is conducted.
Judges said Wednesday they expect the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to verify in a federal district court if it believes DAPL must close down after an important permit was vacated in July.
The ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit gives pipeline operator Energy Transfer LP some time after the July 6 shutdown.
U.S. regulatory authorities may still need to issue another environmental review for the pipeline before ruling if the 570,000-barrel-a-day link can continue operating, the court said.
In July U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Judge James Boasberg ruled that the corps of engineers infringed the National Environmental Policy Act when it allowed an easement to Energy Transfer LP to build and operate a portion of the oil channel beneath South Dakota's Lake Oahe, an important source of potable water for the Standing Rock Sioux tribe.
Jan Hasselman, the Earth Justice legal counsel representing Standing Rock and other tribes in the lawsuit, said the appeals court decision was not a setback. There is more to "like than dislike" in the court ruling, Hasselman said. Standing Rock chairman Mike Faith said the tribe was determined to continue its legal battle.
Boasberg's ruling was a triumph for tribe, which filed a lawsuit against the corps of engineers for approving an oil pipeline it said puts tribal water supplies and cultural resources at risk. It was a loss for U.S. President Donald Trump who has publicly supported the project.
Texas-based Energy Transfer estimated it would cost around $24 million to empty the oil and initiate new measures to preserve the pipeline. It said it would have to spend an additional $67.5 million a year to maintain the oil pipeline while it is inoperable. The pipeline holds around 5 million barrels of oil at full capacity.
