The Trump administration wants the Dakota Access Pipeline to continue flowing after a court ruled an environmental review of the multi-billion-dollar project was inadequate.
The so-called DAPL should continue, because there is a low risk of the pipeline leaking, President Donald Trump and the project’s developer argued Thursday night in a court briefing.
“[T]he extremely low likelihood of any harm if the pipeline remains operational” and the “the certain disruption should the Court order otherwise” justifies keeping the pipeline online, Dakota Access said in the legal brief.
Trump and Dakota Access’ briefs were filed after District Court Judge James Boasberg ruled in June that aspects of the environmental review were subject to reconsideration. He did not shut down the 1,200-mile-long pipeline but said he would consider that option after his decision.
Government officials “did not adequately consider the impacts of an oil spill on fishing rights, hunting rights, or environmental justice, or the degree to which the pipeline’s effects are likely to be highly controversial,” Boasberg wrote in a 91-page opinion.
The Army Corps would need to conduct a new review of DAPL, the multi-billion dollar-pipeline that has come under intense scrutiny since former President Barack Obama blocked its construction last December.
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