Jan. 19, 2017
The fate of the Dakota Access Pipeline isn’t over – and it’s FINALLY getting the full environmental impact study it deserves. Now is the time to submit public comments and attend upcoming public scoping meetings, which will be announced 15 days prior. Learn more about the environmental impact study and how to submit your comments here.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is gathering information necessary to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) in connection with Dakota Access, LLC’s request to grant an easement to cross Lake Oahe, which is on the Missouri River and owned by the US Army Corps of Engineers (Corps). This notice opens the public scoping phase and invites interested parties to identify potential issues, concerns, and reasonable alternatives that should be considered in an EIS.
Earlier this week, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg denied Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners’ request to stop the Corps from proceeding until he rules on whether the company already has the necessary permission to lay pipe under Lake Oahe, the water source for the Standing Rock Sioux tribe.
The Army published a notice Wednesday of its intent to prepare an environmental impact statement on the Lake Oahe crossing. ETP won’t be able to lay pipe under the reservoir while the study is ongoing; it is currently blocked from doing so anyway. An environmental impact study could take up to two years, but the study notice can be withdrawn if the judge were to eventually rule that ETP has permission for the crossing, Army attorneys said.
For more background on the scope of the EIS, see the Federal Register website.
To learn more about Dakota Resource Council’s support of Standing Rock, go here.