Army to allow completion of $3.8B Dakota Access pipeline

BISMARCK, N.D. — The Army said Tuesday that it will allow the $3.8 billion Dakota Access oil pipeline to cross under a Missouri River reservoir in North Dakota, clearing the way for completion of the disputed four-state project.

However, construction could still be delayed because the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, which has led the opposition to the pipeline, said it would fight the latest development.

The Army intends to allow the Lake Oahe crossing to begin as early as Wednesday, according to court documents the Justice Department filed.

The stretch under Lake Oahe is the final big chunk of work on the 1,200-mile pipeline that would carry North Dakota oil through the Dakotas and Iowa to a shipping point in Illinois.

The Standing Rock Sioux tribe, whose reservation is just downstream from the crossing, fears a leak would pollute its drinking water.

The tribe has led protests that drew hundreds and at times thousands of people to an encampment near the crossing. Developer Energy Transfer Partners says the pipeline is safe.

An assessment conducted last year determined the crossing would not have a significant impact on the environment. However, then-Assistant Army Secretary for Civil Works Jo-Ellen Darcy on Dec. 4 declined to issue permission for the crossing, saying a broader environmental study was warranted given the Standing Rock Sioux’s opposition.

The Corps launched a study of the crossing Jan. 18, two days before President Barack Obama left office, that could have taken up to two years to complete. President Donald Trump signed an executive action Jan. 24 telling the Army Corps of Engineers to quickly reconsider Darcy’s decision.