{"id":6924,"date":"2021-01-26T10:52:44","date_gmt":"2021-01-26T15:52:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.indianz.com\/News\/?p=6924"},"modified":"2021-01-26T13:47:46","modified_gmt":"2021-01-26T18:47:46","slug":"d-c-circuit-court-of-appeals-standing-rock-sioux-tribe-v-u-s-army-corps-of-engineers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2021\/01\/26\/d-c-circuit-court-of-appeals-standing-rock-sioux-tribe-v-u-s-army-corps-of-engineers\/","title":{"rendered":"D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals: Standing Rock Sioux Tribe v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers"},"content":{"rendered":"<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" data-attachment-id=\"981\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2020\/09\/22\/jazmin-murphy-native-people-still-fighting-for-seat-at-the-table\/nativenationsrise\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/nativenationsrise-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1920\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-title=\"nativenationsrise\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/nativenationsrise-1024x768.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/nativenationsrise-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"nativenationsrise\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-981\" \/>\r\n<figcaption class=\"figure-caption\">Youth from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe lead the Native Nations Rise march through the streets of Washington, D.C., on March 10, 2017. Photo by Indianz.Com <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/4.0\/\">(CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)<\/a> \r\n<\/figcaption>\r\n<div class=\"h3-responsive font-weight-bold\">D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals: Standing Rock Sioux Tribe v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"date\">Tuesday, January 26, 2021<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"source\">Indianz.Com<\/div>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nThe <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cadc.uscourts.gov\/\">D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals<\/a> has issued a ruling in <em>Standing Rock Sioux Tribe v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers<\/em>.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nThe <a href=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/26\/20-5197-1881818.pdf\">36-page decision<\/a>, released Tuesday morning, confirms that the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usace.army.mil\/\">U.S. Army Corps of Engineers<\/a> acted &#8220;unlawfully&#8221; in approving the final portion of the pipeline near the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Standing_Rock_Indian_Reservation\">Standing Rock Sioux Reservation<\/a>. The action occurred in the <a href=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2017\/02\/15\/standing-rock-leader-vows-to-forgive-des.asp\">early days of the Donald Trump administration<\/a>, back in 2017, over the objections of tribal nations.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n&#8220;The tribes\u2019 unique role and their government-to-government relationship with the United States demand that their criticisms be treated with appropriate solicitude,&#8221; Judge David S. Tatel wrote in the decision.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<div class=\"wp-block-pdfemb-pdf-embedder-viewer\"><a href=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/26\/20-5197-1881818.pdf\" class=\"pdfemb-viewer\" style=\"\" data-width=\"max\" data-height=\"max\" data-toolbar=\"both\" data-toolbar-fixed=\"on\">20-5197-1881818<\/a><\/div>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"100%\" height=\"166\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"no\" allow=\"autoplay\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=https%3A\/\/api.soundcloud.com\/tracks\/973248943&#038;color=%23ff5500&#038;auto_play=false&#038;hide_related=false&#038;show_comments=true&#038;show_user=true&#038;show_reposts=false&#038;show_teaser=true\"><\/iframe><div style=\"font-size: 10px; color: #cccccc;line-break: anywhere;word-break: normal;overflow: hidden;white-space: nowrap;text-overflow: ellipsis; font-family: Interstate,Lucida Grande,Lucida Sans Unicode,Lucida Sans,Garuda,Verdana,Tahoma,sans-serif;font-weight: 100;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/indianz\" title=\"indianz\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;\" rel=\"noopener\">indianz<\/a> \u00b7 <a href=\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/indianz\/standing-rock-sioux-tribe-v-us-army-corps-of-engineers\" title=\"Standing Rock Sioux Tribe v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;\" rel=\"noopener\">Standing Rock Sioux Tribe v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers<\/a><\/div>\r\n<figcaption class=\"figure-caption\">Indianz.Com Audio: <a href=https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2021\/01\/26\/standing-rock-sioux-tribe-v-u-s-army-corps-of-engineers\/>D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals &#8211; Standing Rock Sioux Tribe v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers &#8211; November 4, 2020<\/a>\r\n<\/figcaption>\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nBut the appeals court won&#8217;t require the illegal pipeline to be shut down.  Tatel said it would be up to the new administration of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/administration\/president-biden\/\">President Joe Biden<\/a> to take action, though the ruling also left the door open for further litigation to stop the oil from flowing on Sioux Nation treaty territory.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n&#8220;It may well be &#8212; though we have no occasion to consider the matter here &#8212; that the law or the Corps\u2019s regulations oblige the Corps to vindicate its property rights by requiring the pipeline to cease operation and that the tribes or others could seek judicial relief under the APA should the Corps fail to do so,&#8221; Tatel wrote in reference to the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Administrative_Procedure_Act_(United_States)\">Administrative Procedure Act<\/a> (APA), the U.S. law that governs how federal agencies develop and carry out actions.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n&#8220;But how and on what terms the Corps will enforce its property rights is, absent a properly issued injunction, a matter for the Corps to consider in the first instance, though we would expect it to decide promptly,&#8221; Tatel concluded for the court.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<div class=\"mt-1 mb-1\"><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block; text-align:center;\" data-ad-layout=\"in-article\" data-ad-format=\"fluid\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-8411603009680747\" data-ad-slot=\"6394965691\"><\/ins><script>(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/script><\/div><P><\/P>\r\nSince becoming operational in June 2017 thanks to the Trump administration, the Dakota Access Pipeline  has transported up to 500,000 barrels of oil per day.  The 1,172-mile path runs through North Dakota, South Dakota and Iowa before ending in Illinois.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nThe   portion of the pipeline at issue in the litigation crosses the Missouri River at Lake Oahe.  The site, which is managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, falls within Sioux Nation treaty territory and is less than a half-mile from the northern border of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nThe <a href=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2017\/02\/08\/tribes-promise-fight-to-keep-dakota-acce.asp\">portion at Standing Rock<\/a> was the <a href=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2017\/02\/07\/trump-administration-formally-approves-e.asp\">last to gain approval<\/a> before the pipeline went online.\r\n<P><\/p>\r\nThe <a href=\"https:\/\/www.standingrock.org\/\">Standing Rock Sioux Tribe<\/a> initiated litigation against the Army Corps in the summer of 2016, while the final portion was still under review at the agency. The <a href=\"https:\/\/sdtribalrelations.sd.gov\/tribes\/CheyenneRiver.aspx\">Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe<\/a>, whose <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cheyenne_River_Indian_Reservation\">reservation lies downriver<\/a> from the pipeline crossing, was allowed to intervene in the case after it was filed.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nSeparately, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/THEOGLALANATION\/\">Oglala Sioux Tribe<\/a> and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.yanktonsiouxtribe.net\/\">Yankton Sioux Tribe<\/a> filed lawsuits against the Army Corps. The cases have since been consolidated with <em>Standing Rock Sioux Tribe v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers<\/em>.\r\n<P><\/p>\r\n<div class=\" content_cards_card content_cards_domain_twitter-com\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"content_cards_image\">\n\t\t\t\t<a class=\"content_cards_image_link\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RepDebHaaland\/status\/1280210998457257984\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/card_img\/2115276294837702656\/rNB93TUZ?format=webp&#038;name=medium\" alt=\"Rep. Deb Haaland (@RepDebHaaland) on X\">\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t<div class=\"content_cards_title\">\n\t\t<a class=\"content_cards_title_link\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RepDebHaaland\/status\/1280210998457257984\">\n\t\t\tRep. Deb Haaland (@RepDebHaaland) on X\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"content_cards_description\">\n\t\t<a class=\"content_cards_description_link\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RepDebHaaland\/status\/1280210998457257984\">\n\t\t\t<p>I stood with protestors at Standing Rock demanding to protect sacred land &#038; water resources from being exploited. This decision is an important marker in our fight to protect communities from water contamination &#038; our environment. #NoDAPL #WaterIsLife https:\/\/t.co\/aetOx5RWEb<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"content_cards_site_name\">\n\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/favicon.ico\" alt=\"X (formerly Twitter)\" class=\"content_cards_favicon\"\/>\t\tX (formerly Twitter)\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nAs part of the litigation, a federal judge in June 2017 ruled that the <a href=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2017\/06\/15\/indian-country-celebrates-as-judge-order.asp\">Standing Rock crossing was unlawfully approved<\/a>. The decision determined that the Army Corps took action without considering all of the concerns the tribes raised, including threats to their water supply and treaty rights.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nFollowing another internal review, the Army Corps arrived at the same conclusion and approved the final easement. But in June 2020, Judge James Boasberg of the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., once again said the process was flawed and <a href=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2020\/07\/07\/a-historic-day-tribes-celebrate-victory.asp\">ordered oil to stop flowing<\/a> pending a full environmental impact statement into the portion at Lake Oahe.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nThe Army Corps and the wealthy backers of the Dakota Access Pipeline appealed Boasberg&#8217;s ruling to the D.C. Circuit. The higher court lifted the shutdown order while the case was being reviewed.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nOral arguments <a href=https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2021\/01\/26\/standing-rock-sioux-tribe-v-u-s-army-corps-of-engineers\/>took place on November 4, 2020<\/a>,  resulting in the new decision on Tuesday.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<div class=\" content_cards_card content_cards_domain_twitter-com\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"content_cards_image\">\n\t\t\t\t<a class=\"content_cards_image_link\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/indianz\/status\/1354086208171859971\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/Esqt2O4W8AYMNHQ?format=webp&#038;name=large\" alt=\"indianz.com (@indianz) on X\">\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t<div class=\"content_cards_title\">\n\t\t<a class=\"content_cards_title_link\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/indianz\/status\/1354086208171859971\">\n\t\t\tindianz.com (@indianz) on X\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"content_cards_description\">\n\t\t<a class=\"content_cards_description_link\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/indianz\/status\/1354086208171859971\">\n\t\t\t<p>GOOD NEWS: Federal appeals court affirms full environmental impact statement for Dakota Access Pipeline. SO-SO NEWS: Federal appeals court affirms won&#8217;t require shutdown of Dakota Access Pipeline pending study. D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling preserves status quo. #NoDAPL<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"content_cards_site_name\">\n\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/favicon.ico\" alt=\"X (formerly Twitter)\" class=\"content_cards_favicon\"\/>\t\tX (formerly Twitter)\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-conversation=\"none\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The one-page order was issued by D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals about 10 minutes ago. Full opinion in <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/NoDAPL?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#NoDAPL<\/a> case forthcoming. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/z2JicTaqvJ\">https:\/\/t.co\/z2JicTaqvJ<\/a><\/p>&mdash; indianz.com (@indianz) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/indianz\/status\/1354087267032326148?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 26, 2021<\/a><\/blockquote> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-conversation=\"none\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">From D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals decision in <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/NoDAPL?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#NoDAPL<\/a> case:<br><br>&quot;We agree with the district court that the Corps acted unlawfully &#8230; But we reverse the court\u2019s order to the extent it directed that the pipeline be shut down and emptied of oil.&quot;<br><br>READ MORE:<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/OVQwXIqUVl\">https:\/\/t.co\/OVQwXIqUVl<\/a><\/p>&mdash; indianz.com (@indianz) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/indianz\/status\/1354095425855303680?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 26, 2021<\/a><\/blockquote> \r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-conversation=\"none\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">For those interested in the court docket from Standing Rock Sioux Tribe v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, No. 20-5201, in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/NoDAPL?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#NoDAPL<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/DODgdAIFa4\">pic.twitter.com\/DODgdAIFa4<\/a><\/p>&mdash; indianz.com (@indianz) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/indianz\/status\/1354104805405437952?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 26, 2021<\/a><\/blockquote>  ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A federal appeals court won&#8217;t stop oil from flowing through the Dakota Access Pipeline even though the government acted &#8220;unlawfully&#8221; in approving it.","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":981,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[11,20,13,1,9],"tags":[600,708,83,75,159,284,1081,537,1082,302,97,98,754,154,750,153,753],"class_list":["post-6924","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-environment","category-indian-trust","category-law","category-national","category-opinion","tag-cheyenne-river-sioux","tag-dakota-access-pipeline","tag-dc-circuit","tag-donald-trump","tag-eis","tag-energy","tag-illinois","tag-iowa","tag-james-boasberg","tag-north-dakota","tag-oglala-sioux","tag-south-dakota","tag-standing-rock-sioux","tag-treaties","tag-usace","tag-water","tag-yankton-sioux","no-wpautop"],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcoJ7g-1NG","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/nativenationsrise-scaled.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6924","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6924"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6924\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/981"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6924"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6924"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6924"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}