'Huge Victory' for Standing Rock Sioux tribe as federal court rules DAPL permits violated law

A federal judge handed down a major victory for the Standing Rock Sioux tribe of North Dakota on Wednesday, ruling that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers violated the National Environmental Policy Act by approving federal permits for the Dakota Access Pipeline.

The USACE must complete a full environmental impact study of the pipeline, including full consideration of concerns presented by the Standing Rock Tribe, the judge ruled.

The tribe has asked the court to ultimately shut the pipeline down.

The court chastised the USACE for moving ahead with affirming the permits in 2016 and allowing the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) crossing the Missouri River after President Donald Trump took office in 2017, without considering the expert analysis put forward by the tribe.

At: https://commondreams.org/news/2020/03/25/huge-victory-standing-rock-sioux-tribe-federal-court-rules-dapl-permits-violated-law

Ray Kingfisher leads Standing Rock Sioux demonstrators at the site of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) Missouri River crossing, in North Dakota.

"This is what the tribe has been fighting for many months," Earthjustice noted. "Their fearless organizing continues to change the game."