Standing Rock Sioux Tribe v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Dakota Access, LLC (Dakota) (defendant) applied to the United States Army Corps of Engineers (the corps) (defendant) for an easement allowing it to run a segment of Dakota’s oil pipeline beneath a lake located on the Missouri River and stretching between North Dakota and South Dakota. The corps conducted an environmental analysis, concluded that it was not necessary to prepare an environmental-impact statement (EIS), and granted the easement. The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, along with other Native American tribes (the tribes) (plaintiffs), challenged the corps’ decision. The district court found that the corps had violated the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) by failing to prepare an EIS prior to approving the project despite the existence of conditions requiring an EIS. The court remanded the matter to the corps with instructions to prepare the required EIS. The corps decided to expedite the EIS process and estimated that the process would take 13 months. The court asked the parties to submit separate briefs concerning whether the easement should be vacated and the pipeline shut down during the remand process. The tribes submitted briefs in favor of vacating the easement. Dakota and the corps submitted briefs opposing vacatur, arguing, among other things, that a pipeline shutdown would cause economic harm to Dakota and to the North Dakota oil industry. The district court considered the parties’ briefs.