Dakota Access Pipeline Cleared to Operate Under Stricter Rules

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will allow the Dakota Access Pipeline to continue operating under expanded leak detection, monitoring and environmental oversight requirements.

(Reuters) — The Dakota Access oil pipeline can continue operating with stricter environmental and safety mandates, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said on May 21, in a blow to Native American tribes and green groups who fought the pipeline's route across a crucial water supply for years.

A U.S. court in 2020 ordered the Army Corps, the federal agency overseeing permit approvals, to undertake a more intensive environmental study of the pipeline's route under a lake that straddles the border of North Dakota and South Dakota.

The pipeline, known as DAPL, has continued to operate during the review. It is the biggest oil pipeline from the Bakken shale oil basin and can transport up to 750,000 barrels of oil per day from North Dakota to Illinois. A portion of the line, owned by Texas-based Energy Transfer, runs under Lake Oahe, an artificial reservoir on the Missouri River.

Energy Transfer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The tribes have opposed the pipeline, saying they draw water from the lake for various purposes, including drinking, and consider the waters of the Missouri River sacred. Their lawyers have said the tribes are worried about a potential oil spill.

The Army Corps said it had decided that granting the pipeline an easement with additional conditions to reduce risk to the lake and the Missouri River was the preferred of five alternatives it studied.

The conditions include enhanced leak detection and monitoring systems, expanded groundwater and surface water monitoring, water supply contingency planning, subsistence studies coordinated with affected tribes, and independent expert review of pipeline leak and detection safety systems, the Army Corps said.

Implementation of the decision will include coordination with federal and state agencies, tribes, and other stakeholders to ensure compliance with all applicable laws, regulations, and permit conditions. The Army Corps will continue oversight of easement conditions and monitoring requirements throughout the life of the pipeline, it said.

The Army Corps' decision does not authorize construction of new pipeline segments beyond the existing crossing.