Environmental wacko ruling on pipeline overturned in part by appeals court

Reuters:

A U.S. appeals court on Wednesday said the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) does not have to be shut and drained per a lower court order, but a legal battle continued over the permit that allowed the line to be finished.

U.S. regulatory officials may still need to issue another environmental assessment for DAPL before deciding if the 570,000-barrel-per-day oil pipeline can keep operating, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia said.

In July, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers violated federal environmental law when it granted an easement to Energy Transfer LP to construct and operate a portion of the pipeline beneath South Dakota’s Lake Oahe, a crucial drinking-water source for the Standing Rock Sioux tribe.

That judge said DAPL, controlled by Energy Transfer, would have to shut by Aug. 5. The appeals court decision allows the pipeline to remain running. The appeal will continue but a separate panel of judges will preside over it, lawyers said.
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The ruling never made much sense and would have a negative impact on US energy security.  The environmental wackos appear to be just using the Standing Rick Sioux to achieve the anti-energy left's goal of stopping all fossil fuel production in this country.  That objective would be detrimental to US national security and would destroy much of the transportation industry while pushing inefficient and unreliable alternative energy projects.