The Army Corps of Engineers issued a new permit Thursday to the Dakota Access pipeline allowing it to continue operating beneath Lake Oahe in North Dakota.
The move marks the latest twist in years of legal and administrative battles over the pipeline, which has sparked years of sometimes-violent protests. It comes as the Trump administration has aggressively pushed domestic oil and gas production and new pipelines across the nation.
The new record of decision replaces a previous permit that was thrown out by a federal judge in 2020. An appeals court decision in 2021 let Energy Transfer continue carrying oil through the pipeline as the federal government prepared a more robust environmental analysis. Dakota Access carries up to 750,000 barrels of oil a day from North Dakota to the Midwest.
The Trump administration — which first granted the permit for the pipeline to travel under the lake in 2017 — released an environmental impact statement in December recommending that the easement be granted. The new easement includes additional conditions such as enhanced leak detection and monitoring, subsistence studies with local tribes and an independent review of safety systems.
