Tribal Chairmen sent a letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Sept. 22 responding to the flawed and irredeemable Environmental Impact Statement process and calling on the agency to terminate its contract with the firm preparing the document.
The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe submitted technical comments, which highlighted how the Army Corps continues to ignore the Tribe’s input and refuse to share technical documents.
The Pipeline Hazardous Materials and Safety Administration (PHMSA), which is responsible for overseeing pipeline safety, fined DAPL and put the company on notice for a list of violations ranging from neglecting safety repairs on release valves, to failing to properly analyze the volume and impact of an oil spill in densely populated, or “high-consequence,” areas.
A PHMSA enforcement action drew an immediate response from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which submitted a court filing to alert a federal judge to the recent developments.
A federal district court issued an order denying the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s request for an injunction that would have shut down the Dakota Access Pipeline while a federal environmental impact analysis is conducted.
Jan Hasselman, Attorney, Northwest Office, Earthjustice: “This is a pretty definitive statement that the legal issues in this case do not warrant attention from the Supreme Court. Here, not only didn’t we see dissents, not a single judge called for a vote.”
Make Every Day Earth Day.
In honor of Earth Day and the fight for the wild spaces we love, the air we breathe, the water we drink — any gift you make for the month of April will be matched $2:$1!