July 6th, 2020 (Oceti Sakowin Territory)- Today a federal judge ordered Dakota Access, LLC a subsidiary of Energy Transfer Partners, to shut down and empty their Dakota Access Pipeline. This order is part of an ongoing lawsuit filed by the Standing Rock and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribes. The court recently found that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had violated the National Environmental Policy Act when it granted an easement to Dakota Access, LLC due to a failure to conduct a full environmental impact review on the project. This newest decision by the court orders the pipeline to shut down within 30 days and to remain shut down until the environmental review is complete.
The following is a statement by the Indigenous Environmental Network:
“We are celebrating this order as it vindicates the many prayers, actions, and legal arguments of Oceti Sakowin tribal nations and communities! The Standing Rock and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribes have shown the world that treaty rights and environmental justice are not token concepts without merit, but rather tangible arguments that inherently protect the sacredness of mother earth. We will continue to fight until DAPL is stopped completely.”