BISMARCK - Attorneys for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said this week the agency will need more time to review information from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and the developer of the Dakota Access Pipeline before completing an environmental study.
In a status report filed in the U.S. District Court in North Dakota, the Corps said it has "almost completed its evaluation" but now expects to issue a decision by the end of the month. It had previously expected to complete the process by Friday, Aug. 10.
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The $3.8 billion Dakota Access Pipeline started transporting oil more than a year after ago months of protests centered around its crossing at Lake Oahe near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in south central North Dakota. The project is still the subject of litigation brought by tribes.
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg said in June 2017 that the Corps didn't "adequately consider" the impacts of an oil spill and would have to reconsider an environmental analysis.
