GAIN Coalition Statement on U.S. Army Corps Response to DAPL Challenge
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers this week asked a D.C. federal judge to grant summary judgement in the Standing Rock Sioux and three other tribes’ challenge to the Dakota Access Pipeline, arguing it sufficiently consulted the tribes and performed the environmental review that the court demanded, Law360 reports. Despite DAPL’s safe operation for more than two years, the tribes’ legal challenge calls on the Court to vacate the pipeline’s permits and require the Corps to perform another environmental impact statement.
Below is a statement that can be attributed to me, Craig Stevens, spokesman for the GAIN Coalition:
“Despite having jurisdiction over only about 2.5% of the Dakota Access Pipeline’s route, the Army Corps conducted a thorough environmental assessment of the project, well beyond what is required by law. This legal challenge ignores several key facts – primarily that tribes largely refused to participate in the Corps’ extensive consultation process. 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 urges the Court to put this matter to rest by affirming the Corps’ request.”