Judge allows oil pipeline to keep running

BISMARCK, N.D. — A federal judge ruled Wednesday that the Dakota Access oil pipeline can continue operating while a study is completed to assess its environmental impact on an American Indian tribe.

U.S. District Judge James Boasberg’s decision will come as a blow to the Standing Rock Sioux, who have argued that an oil spill from the pipeline under Lake Oahe — from which the tribe draws its water — could have a detrimental effect on the tribal community.

The $3.8 billion pipeline built by Energy Transfer Partners has been operating since June 1, moving oil from western North Dakota through South Dakota and Iowa to a distribution point in Illinois.

President Donald Trump had pushed for the pipeline’s completion, and the Army Corps of Engineers dropped a plan to conduct more environmental study after he took office. The Corps permitted the pipeline project.

Boasberg ruled on June 14 that the Corps largely complied with environmental law in giving its permission but that it didn’t adequately consider how an oil spill under the Lake Oahe reservoir on the Missouri River in the Dakotas might affect the Standing Rock Sioux.