The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has asked an appeals court to reverse a lower court’s ruling vacating the permit of the Dakota Access oil pipeline to operate, arguing that such ruling creates “impossible” standards that could scupper future major infrastructure projects. A federal judge ruled on July 6 that the Dakota Access Pipeline, in operation since 2017, must be emptied and shut down by August 5, until a new comprehensive environmental review is complete. The United States District Court for the District of Columbia said that the Army Corps of Engineers had violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) when it gave a permit to the pipeline to build beneath Lake Oahe. Earlier this month, a U.S. appeals court ruled that the Dakota Access can stay open and should not be emptied of crude, but it did order an expedited schedule for the parties to submit briefs over […]