A federal judge on July 6 ordered the Dakota Access Pipeline to be shut down and emptied while the U.S. government conducts an in-depth environmental impact review.
U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg ordered the underground oil pipeline to be emptied by Aug. 5, delivering a victory to Native American tribes after a years-long legal battle. The court had previously ruled that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had violated federal environmental law when it granted a permit for an easement to construct a segment of the 1,172-mile pipeline beneath Lake Oahe, a large reservoir behind a dam on the Missouri River.
