Democrats join attack on Army Corps over Dakota Access pipeline

 

Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey led a coalition of 18 states, territories and counties in filing an amicus brief on Wednesday to affirm a lower court’s ruling that the Army Corps of Engineers did not properly assess the potential impact of an oil spill from the Dakota Access pipeline.

The filing in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia supports the Standing Rock Sioux, Cheyenne River Sioux, Oglala Sioux and Yankton Sioux Tribes in their challenge to the Corps decision to grant an easement to Dakota Access authorizing the construction of a portion of the pipeline under Lake Oahe.

Several Democratic lawmakers also submitted a brief on Wednesday to vacate the easement, including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.) and Raúl Grijalva (Ariz.) and Sens. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) and Tom Carper (Del.)

Who are the 18? Massachusetts, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington and the District of Columbia as well as the Territory of Guam and Harris County, Texas. (Houston)