CANNON BALL, N.D. (AP) — U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says it won’t grant an easement for the Dakota Access oil pipeline in southern North Dakota.
Corps spokeswoman Moria Kelley said in a news release Sunday that the administration will not allow the four-state, $3.8 billion pipeline to be built under Lake Oahe, a Missouri River reservoir where construction had been on hold.
The Secretary of the Interior says the Army Corps’ decision to not grant an easement for the Dakota Access oil pipeline “ensures there will be an in-depth evaluation of alternative routes.”
Sally Jewell also said in a statement that the decision “underscores that tribal rights … are essential components of the analysis” for the environmental impact statement.
The route has been the subject of months of protests by the Standing Rock Sioux tribe and others, who have argued the pipeline threatens a water source and cultural sites.
The company constructing the pipeline, Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners, and the Morton County Sheriff’s Office didn’t have immediate comment.
Demonstrators say they’re prepared to stay, and federal, state and local authorities say they won’t forcibly remove the protesters.
