Tribes Ask For Extension -- DAPL Update -- August 31, 2021

Re-posting:

Tribes ask for six-month extension: the US Army Corps of Engineers has decided to extend its timeframe for completing a court-ordered environmental study on the DAPL, according to information posted on the federal agency's Dakota Access project page. Link here.  Link to Williston Herald. 

According to court records, the Corps had been asked by tribes to extend the schedule by six months, and the federal agency said then it was considering granting the request. The decision will put publication of the Dakota Access pipeline’s final EIS somewhere around September of next year.

The outcome of the study will be a deciding factor in whether the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reissues the easement for the Lake Oahe crossing, which was revoked last year.

Judge James Boasberg ruled that due to its controversial nature, NEPA required the Corps to complete the longer Environmental Impact Statement instead of the shorter Environmental Assessment when evaluating the pipeline’s easement to cross 90 feet below Lake Oahe.