ELR Citation: 50 ELR 20168
No(s). 16-1534 (JEB) (D.D.C. Jul 6, 2020) (Boasberg, J.)

A district court vacated the Army Corps of Engineers' decision to grant an easement under the Mineral Leasing Act for the Dakota Access Pipeline, which runs from North Dakota to Illinois, after previously ruling that the Corps must prepare an EIS for the pipeline to comply with NEPA. The court found that clear precedent favoring vacatur, coupled with the seriousness of the Corps' deficiencies, outweighed the negative effects of halting oil flow for the 13 months that the Corps expects preparation of the EIS to take. It therefore ordered the pipeline to be shut down and emptied within 30 days.