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- Army Corps mandates stricter safety, monitoring for Dakota Access pipeline
- Conditions include enhanced leak detection, water monitoring systems, independent review of pipeline leak
- No new pipeline segments authorized
HOUSTON, May 21 (Reuters) – The Dakota Access oil pipeline can keep operating under stricter environmental and safety conditions, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said on Thursday, dealing a blow to Native American tribes and environmental groups that have long opposed the project over risks to a key water supply.
A U.S. court in 2020 ordered the Army Corps, the federal agency overseeing permit approvals, to undertake a more intensive environmental study of the pipeline’s route under a lake that straddles the border of North Dakota and South Dakota.
The pipeline, known as DAPL, has remained in operation during the review. It is the biggest oil pipeline from the Bakken shale oil basin and can transport up to 750,000 barrels of oil per day from North Dakota to Illinois. A portion of the line, owned by Texas-based Energy Transfer (ET.N), runs under Lake Oahe, an artificial reservoir on the Missouri River.
Energy Transfer was pleased with the announcement by the Army Corps of Engineers, said Vicki Granado, vice president of Corporate Communications for Energy Transfer, adding that DAPL has been safely operating for nearly 10 years and is a critical part of U.S. energy infrastructure.
Native American tribes have opposed the pipeline, saying they draw water from the lake for various purposes, including drinking, and consider the waters of the Missouri River sacred. Their lawyers have said the tribes are worried about a potential oil spill.
The Army Corps said it had decided that granting the pipeline an easement with additional safeguards was the preferred option among five it studied, allowing operations to continue while reducing risks to the lake and the Missouri River.
The conditions include enhanced leak detection and monitoring, expanded groundwater and surface water testing, emergency water supply planning, subsistence studies with affected tribes, and independent reviews of pipeline safety systems, the Army Corps said.
Implementation of the decision will include coordination with federal and state agencies, tribes, and other stakeholders to ensure compliance with all applicable laws, regulations, and permit conditions. The Army Corps will continue oversight of easement conditions and monitoring requirements throughout the life of the pipeline, it said.
The Army Corps’ decision does not authorize construction of new pipeline segments beyond the existing crossing.
Reporting by Arathy Somasekhar in Houston Editing by Rod Nickel and Sanjeev Miglani
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