Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) announced Tuesday night that acting Secretary of the Army Robert Speer told him he has directed the Army Corps of Engineers to issue the easement necessary to complete the Dakota Access Pipeline.
"This will enable the company to complete the project, which can and will be built with the necessary safety features to protect the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and others downstream," he said in a statement. It is not clear if the easement has been issued yet, the first step in starting construction. The tribe has been fighting the pipeline, which would be built under Lake Oahe in North Dakota, saying it threatens their water supply and will go through sacred land. In November, Obama administration officials did not issue the easement, and instead said they would conduct an environmental impact assessment; last week, President Trump signed an executive order pushing the pipeline through. In a statement, the tribe said the Army Corps cannot stop the review and must work with Congress or the tribe before issuing the easement.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
September 16 editorial cartoonsCartoons Tuesday's political cartoons include bad news for inflation, Brian Kilmeade's solution, and Kash Patel's dinner order
-
Fit for a king: must-visit palaces around the UKThe Week Recommends Our pick of the nation’s most magnificent residences for nobles and royals
-
Is Andy Burnham making a bid to replace Keir Starmer?Today's Big Question Mayor of Manchester on manoeuvres but faces a number of obstacles before he can even run
-
New York court tosses Trump's $500M fraud fineSpeed Read A divided appeals court threw out a hefty penalty against President Trump for fraudulently inflating his wealth
-
Trump said to seek government stake in IntelSpeed Read The president and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan reportedly discussed the proposal at a recent meeting
-
US to take 15% cut of AI chip sales to ChinaSpeed Read Nvidia and AMD will pay the Trump administration 15% of their revenue from selling artificial intelligence chips to China
-
NFL gets ESPN stake in deal with DisneySpeed Read The deal gives the NFL a 10% stake in Disney's ESPN sports empire and gives ESPN ownership of NFL Network
-
Samsung to make Tesla chips in $16.5B dealSpeed Read Tesla has signed a deal to get its next-generation chips from Samsung
-
FCC greenlights $8B Paramount-Skydance mergerSpeed Read The Federal Communications Commission will allow Paramount to merge with the Hollywood studio Skydance
-
Tesla reports plummeting profitsSpeed Read The company may soon face more problems with the expiration of federal electric vehicle tax credits
-
Dollar faces historic slump as stocks hit new highSpeed Read While stocks have recovered post-Trump tariffs, the dollar has weakened more than 10% this year
