Update, Feb. 7: A spokesperson for the Environmental Protection Agency sent Motherboard the following statement: "The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) does not have an approval or permitting role in the project. However, under EPA's National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) authority we provided comments in January and March of 2016 to the Army Corps of Engineers regarding its draft environmental assessment for the Dakota Access Pipeline. EPA's comments are part of the public record on this matter."
Without saying more on the matter, the spokesperson directed us to the agency's comments on the Army Corps of Engineer's first environmental impact statement. Last year, the EPA advised the Corps to find an alternate route for the pipeline "that would have reduced potential to water resources, especially drinking water supplies." They also urged the Corps to be "more thorough" with its investigation of environmental threats posed by the Dakota Access pipeline.
The agency spokesperson also noted the Corps chose not to hold a public comment period before posting its final review, as the EPA encouraged it to do.
Today, after months of protests, the remaining portion of the Dakota Access pipeline was greenlit by the Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps approved an easement, or building permit, to finish the 1,170-mile-long pipeline, which will tunnel under Lake Oahe in North Dakota, according to a court filing.
The crude oil conduit has been opposed by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe for more than a year now. Fearing that the pipeline would contaminate their drinking supply and damage sacred cultural sites, indigenous water protectors have attempted to halt the project, which is owned by Energy Transfer Partners.
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