Live Updates > Live Update Details
2026-05-25 20:40:10
[Dakota Pipeline Granted Permission to Continue Operation, But Subject to Stricter Environmental Regulations; Native American Concerns Remain] ⑴ The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ruled last Wednesday (May 21) that the Dakota Pipeline can continue operating under stricter environmental and safety regulations, a blow to Native American tribes and environmental groups who have opposed the pipeline's passage through a critical water source for years. ⑵ The pipeline can transport up to 750,000 barrels of crude oil per day from the Bakken Shale Basin to Illinois, with a section running beneath the Oashie Reservoir on the Missouri River. In 2020, a U.S. court ordered the Army Corps of Engineers to conduct a more in-depth environmental study of this section. ⑶ The Army Corps of Engineers stated that granting the pipeline an easement with additional conditions to reduce risks to the reservoir and the Missouri River was the preferred option among five alternatives. These additional conditions include strengthening leak detection and monitoring systems, expanding groundwater and surface water monitoring, developing water supply contingency plans, coordinating survival resource studies with affected tribes, and having independent experts review the pipeline's leak detection safety system. (4) From a transactional psychology perspective, the ruling provides policy certainty for domestic shale oil transportation in the United States, but stricter regulatory requirements mean increased operating costs and potential compliance risks. Indigenous tribes have long been concerned about the threat of oil spills to drinking water safety, and this conflict has not been fundamentally resolved by the new regulations, which may remain a potential trigger for future legal challenges.
