The United States Army Corp of Engineers has announced it will reroute the Dakota Access Pipeline following months of protests from climate change activists and Native Americans.
A section of the pipeline, which is owned by Texas-based company Energy Transfer Partners LP, was due to be constructed under Lake Oahe, a reservoir on the Missouri River. However, members of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe argued it would damage the water supply of their nearby reservation.
On Sunday, the US Army said: "The Army will not grant an easement to cross Lake Oahe at the proposed location based on the current record.
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"Although we have had continuing discussion and exchanges of new information with the Standing Rock Sioux and Dakota Access, it's clear that there's more work to do... The best way to complete that work responsibly and expeditiously is to explore alternate routes for the pipeline crossing."
The Obama administration has come under fire from Republicans over the decision. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan called it "big-government decision-making at its worst".
Protesters cheered when the news was announced, reports CNN, although the Sioux and their supporters expressed caution as president-elect Donald Trump is understood to be in favour of the pipeline.
In a statement, Dallas Goldtooth, the lead organiser for grassroots green group Indigenous Environmental Network, said: "We are asking our supporters to keep up the pressure because while President Obama has granted us a victory today, that victory isn't guaranteed in the next administration.
"More threats are likely in the year to come and we cannot stop until this pipeline is completely and utterly defeated and our water and climate are safe."
