Judge Orders Redo of Dakota Access Pipeline Analysis

A federal judge on Wednesday ordered the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to redo its environmental analysis of the effects of the Dakota Access Pipeline, paving the way for the line to be halted at a later date. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg issued a 91-page decision in response to a complaint by the Standing Rock Sioux tribe over environmental concerns. According to Boasberg, the Army Corps failed to consider how an oil spill would affect “fishing rights, hunting rights, or environmental justice, or the degree to which the pipeline’s effects are likely to be highly controversial.” The Army Corps must now revise its environmental study, while Boasberg said he’d decide whether to halt the pipeline at a later date. The ruling gives a glimmer of hope to critics who’ve protested against the pipeline’s construction for months, warning of significant environmental damage if the 1,200-mile conduit is put into commission. Dave Archambault II, chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, which has been a driving force behind protests against the pipeline, called the judge’s ruling a “significant victory” on Wednesday. Boasberg had previously dismissed two complaints over the pipeline by the Standing Rock and Cheyenne River tribes, but said the latest complaint had met with “some degree of success.”