Months after Oklahomans joined thousands in protesting the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has granted approval for construction to resume.
Work by the Texas developer, Energy Transfer Partners, will allow the completion of the 1,700-mile pipeline. The only work remaining is to construct the final 1.5 miles of pipeline under the Missouri River north of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation.
Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army Paul Cramer sent a letter to Congress announcing the decision and cited the memorandum, calling to “consistent with the direction” in the memo.
He said the Corps would “waive its policy to wait 14 days after Congressional notification before granting an easement.”
Cramer also explained that the final construction work, the drilling of a horizontal hole under that part of the Missouri River known as Lake Oahe for a 30-inch diameter pipe does not require a separate construction license.
As for the protesters, they have little time to pursue legal action.
In a related story, the North Dakota State House endorsed four bills this week connected to the dispute. The GOP led chamber approved one that makes it a crime for adults to wear masks in most cases. Other bills winning approval increase penalties for rioting, trespassing and causing damage to personal property. They now head to the Senate which is also led by Republicans.
