An American federal appeals court on Tuesday declined to cancel the Dakota Access Pipeline even as it upheld a ruling from a lower court throwing out a decision allowing its construction.
"We agree with the district court that the Corps acted unlawfully, and we affirm the court's order vacating the easement while the Corps prepares an environmental impact statement," said the ruling.
"But we reverse the court's order to the extent it directed that the pipeline be shut down and emptied of oil," the ruling said, according to Bloomberg.
The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia said in its ruling that an environmental impact assessment should have been completed before going forward with the pipeline.
The appeals court said the United States District Court for the District of Columbia was wrong to shut down the pipeline. It left the decision on the pipeline's future to the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).
The judges decided shutting down the pipeline is unnecessary because the easement has been vacated. These judges argued shutting down the pipeline would circumvent court precedent by requiring a legal test to determine whether to grant an injunction.
The ruling left room for agency action and additional litigation to end the pipeline, leaving its future uncertain.
"It may well be—though we have no occasion to consider the matter here—that the law or the Corps's regulations oblige the Corps to vindicate its property rights by requiring the pipeline to cease operation," said the ruling.
Earthjustice, an environmental protection law firm, sued over the pipeline on behalf of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. Jan Hasselman, an attorney at Earthjustice, said in a statement that he was happy with this ruling.
"Today we've reached another milestone in our four-year legal battle on behalf of the Standing Rock Sioux to shut down this pipeline," said Hasselman. "This decision affirms what the tribe has been saying from the start — this pipeline is a threat to clean water and Indigenous sovereignty, and we must examine the consequences it brings for the future."
North Dakota Senator Kevin Cramer said in a statement that administrative action should not be taken on the pipeline.
"The Army Corps of Engineers should be allowed to proceed as they are without political interference from the Biden administration," said Cramer. "This is not another opportunity to wage war on North Dakota's energy producers."
Dakota Access was completed in 2017 after former US president Donald Trump ordered for it to be revived. Former US president Barack Obama denied a permit for the pipeline.
The pipeline carries oil from North Dakota to Illinois. There has been significant opposition to it from environmentalists and Indigenous tribes over the years, spurring massive protests.
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