STATEMENT: SRST Launches Another Legal Challenge to DAPL
On Friday, EarthJustice filed a motion on behalf of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. The motion, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, calls for summary judgment on challenges to federal permits issued for the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL). Despite the fact that DAPL has been safely operating for more than two years, EarthJustice’s filing calls on the Court to vacate DAPL’s permits and require the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to perform another environmental impact statement. This latest filing comes after repeated challenges to pipeline’s permits and subsequent environmental reviews.
Below is a statement that can be attributed to me, Craig Stevens, spokesman for the GAIN Coalition:
“This futile legal maneuver is simply the latest attempt in a long string of litigation seeking to shut down the Dakota Access Pipeline. The motion ignores a number of key facts in regard to the pipeline’s rigorous, multi-year permitting process. The SRST largely refused to participate in the Corps’ exhaustive review in which nearly 400 consultation meetings occurred as career professionals carefully reviewed and ultimately approved the pipeline. The pipeline’s developer took extensive measures to preserve undisturbed land by routing the pipeline within existing utility corridors, in addition to more than 100 route adjustments in North Dakota alone to minimize the risk of disrupting cultural or tribal features.
After years of regulatory and legal scrutiny, it is clear that DAPL is one of the most studied, reviewed, and litigated pipelines in the history of the United States. The courts have determined that both the Army Corps of Engineers and Dakota Access have met or exceeded all laws and regulations governing the permitting, installation, and operation of the Dakota Access Pipeline. The GAIN Coalition applauds the Army Corps’ diligent work reviewing Dakota Access and looks forward to the Court’s swift conclusion to this matter.”