EPA has ended its ban on federal contracts for the company that developed the Dakota Access oil pipeline, threatening a key legal attack used by opponents seeking to shut the line.
The case against Energy Transfer, the Dallas-based pipeline giant, had been pending for nearly 2 ½ years.
EPA never made a formal decision to debar the company, but Energy Transfer and three of its subsidiaries were prohibited from getting federal contracts while the case was pending. That ended Monday when EPA officials terminated the case.
In an unsigned statement to POLITICO’s E&E News on Thursday explaining why the case was dropped, EPA’s press office said the debarment hadn’t been expected to last more than three years. So even if the agency had ruled against the company, the debarment period was almost over.
