Federal appeals court temporarily permits Dakota Access Pipeline operation
The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled Tuesday that the Dakota Access Pipeline can continue operating amid legal proceedings. The order rejects a lower court’s decision last week to shut down the pipeline as owner Energy Transfer LP faces legal challenges from the Standing Rock Sioux tribe. Tuesday’s decision emphasizes [...]
Federal court denies motion to reconsider emptying of Dakota Access Pipeline
Judge James E. Boasberg, of the US District Court for the District of Columbia, denied an emergency motion by Dakota Access, LLC on Tuesday to stay his July 6 order directing the company to empty the Dakota Access pipeline (DAPL) within 30-days. Since July 2016, the Standing Rock Sioux and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribes, along [...]
A judge for the US District Court for the District of Columbia ruled on Monday that the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) must shut down pending a review of its environmental impact. This ruling comes after Judge James Boasberg ruled in March that the US Army Corps of Engineers violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). [...]
Federal appeals court denies Trump administration request for Keystone XL Pipeline permit
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Thursday denied the Trump administration’s request to continue Keystone XL Pipeline construction. This decision will delay pipeline construction until the Ninth Circuit renders its final decision. The Ninth Circuit’s denial follows after the Montana District Court revoked construction permits for the Keystone XL Pipeline in [...]
Federal judge cancels Keystone XL pipeline permit over concern for endangered species
Judge Brian Morris, a US District Judge for the District of Montana, canceled a key permit for the Keystone XL oil pipeline on Wednesday. In 2017 the US Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) reissued Nationwide Permit 12. The permit authorizes “discharges of dredged of fill material into jurisdictional waters” and is necessary for the water-crossings [...]
Federal judge rules permits for Dakota Access Pipeline violated law
A judge for the US District Court for the District of Columbia ruled Wednesday that the permits issued for the Dakota Access Pipeline violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The complaint was brought by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe as well as other tribes after the “U.S. Army Corps of Engineers concluded that granting [...]
Federal appeals court rules federal law gives no recourse to Indian tribe in fight with EPA
A three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit on Monday affirmed a lower court’s dismissal of a suit the Menominee tribe filed against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers, holding that the court cannot review the agencies’ actions. A company called Aquila Resources applied to [...]
Trump administration finalizes rule weakening federal water pollution protections
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Army Corps of Engineers released a finalized version of their new “Navigable Waters Protection Rule” on Thursday, capping President Donald Trump’s attempts to roll back Obama-era pollution regulations under the Clean Water Act. The replacement rule follows the repeal of the earlier “Waters of the United States” rule [...]
Federal judge refuses to dismiss Puget Sound lawsuit against US Corps of Engineers
A federal judge on Tuesday rejected an attempt by the US Army Corps of Engineers to dismiss a lawsuit challenging their refusal to protect vulnerable shoreline along the Puget Sound. The lawsuit deals with tidal jurisdiction boundaries. A key aspect in this dispute is the measurement of high tide along the coast of the Puget [...]
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed into law America’s Water Infrastructure Act, which seeks to “provide for the conservation and development of water and related resources and authorize the Secretary of the Army to construct various projects for improvements to rivers and harbors of the .” The law purports to benefit nearly every state by authorizing “construction [...]
