Court orders Dakota pipeline shut in latest blow to U.S. fossil fuel projects

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. court ordered the shutdown of the Dakota Access oil pipeline on Monday over concerns about its potential environmental impact, a big win for the Native American tribes and green groups who fought the major pipeline’s route across a crucial water supply for years.

The decision by U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia followed the cancellation of another high-profile U.S. pipeline project on Sunday and came as a blow to the Trump administration’s efforts to lift the domestic fossil fuels industry by rolling back environmental red tape.

According to the ruling, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) when it granted an easement to Energy Transfer LP (ET.N) to construct and operate a segment of the oil pipeline beneath Lake Oahe in South Dakota, because they failed to produce an adequate Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-pipeline-energy-transfer/court-orders-dakota-pipeline-shut-in-latest-blow-to-us-fossil-fuel-projects-idUSKBN2471TQ