Army denies easement for Dakota Access Pipeline - construction halted

People at the Oceti Sakowin Camp are rejoicing this afternoon as the Army has announced that the Corps of Engineers is denying the easement for the pipeline under Lake Oahe. This essentially halts construction for the time being, and the Army Corps of Engineers is planning for an Environmental Impact Study with public input.

This will put the construction project seriously behind schedule and will almost certainly become a huge expense for the pipeline owners, since they face punitive contract damages if the pipeline is not finished by Dec. 31. The pipeline construction should remain halted until a re-routing of the line is established.

The protests at the Dakota Access pipeline site continue with very little coverage in national news. The company building the pipeline has apparently purposely destroyed Native American burial and sacred sites, going out of their way to target exactly the sites the tribes have been trying to preserve.  Today a judge ruled that the construction can continue, overruling an emergency stay in construction.  This is coverage from Democracy Now from yesterday.