The U.S. Court of Appeals in the District of Columbia granted the Dakota Access Pipeline permission on July 14 to continue operating, temporarily setting aside a July 6 order from a lower court for the pipeline to be closed down and emptied while the U.S. government conducts an extensive environmental impact study.
The administrative stay allows the pipeline to continue to transport crude oil while the Appeals Court considers whether the pipeline should remain in operation or be shut down permanently. Environmental groups and Native American tribes in the region have questioned whether the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers violated federal law in granting a permit to Dakota Access LLC and Energy Transfer LP for an easement to route part of the pipeline deep beneath Lake Oahe, a reservoir on the Missouri River.
