Central ND News

A federal judge has allowed North Dakota and 13 other states to intervene as co-defendants in the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's lawsuit against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers over the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL). 

The tribe's lawsuit, filed in October, argues that the Corps of Engineers unlawfully permitted the pipeline to operate without proper environmental reviews or emergency spill response plans, and seeks to shut it down. 

North Dakota contends that closing DAPL would result in substantial economic losses, threaten jobs and infringe on the state's right to regulate its own resources. 

Joining North Dakota as co-defendants in the case are Iowa, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas and West Virginia.

The combined states argue that DAPL is central for regional energy, agriculture and economic stability, citing the pipeline’s role in reducing truck and rail traffic, pollution and ensuring the safe transport of goods. 

“DAPL plays a vital role in ensuring the nation’s crops can come to market — not because DAPL itself transports agricultural products, but because every barrel of oil that DAPL transports is a barrel that does not take space in a truck or a train,” the states wrote in a Dec. 16 brief.

The case, which is being heard by U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg, follows years of disputes and protests over the pipeline's alleged impact on tribal sovereignty and sacred sites.

A motion to intervene, prior to other states joining the action, was filed by North Dakota in mid-November. 

In it, North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley argued the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's lawsuit seeking to shut down the DAPL, would cause severe economic harm to the state. 

“(I)f DAPL is shut down, 550,000 to 600,000 barrels of oil per day will likely remain shut-in until economically viable alternate transportation can be secured and contracts revised,” Wrigley noted in the brief. “This would result in an estimated temporary loss of 8,450 to 9,300 full-time jobs and a permanent loss of 1,700 to 2,200 full-time jobs.”

The state’s motion highlights that DAPL is responsible for transporting a significant portion of the state’s crude oil, and its closure would result in an estimated loss of $900 million in state revenues within the first year. 

“Closing DAPL will therefore result in the loss of substantial tax revenue for the state of North Dakota and its citizens,” the motion states. “(T)he state estimates that an order closing DAPL would reduce state revenues for the first 12 months by approximately $900 million, assuming a 50% decrease in oil production for three months before producers are gradually able to transition more production from DAPL to rail.” 

Additionally, the state warns that shutting down the pipeline could lead to a temporary loss of up to 9,300 jobs and disrupt agriculture and energy supply chains. 

The state also argues that redirecting oil transportation to rail could increase air pollution and spill risks, exacerbating environmental and public safety concerns.

The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's lawsuit accuses the Corps of Engineers of “failing to regulate, permit, and remove the Dakota Access Pipeline (“DAPL”) operated by Energy Transfer LP, as required by law” and noting they are trying to “protect the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s water supplies, cultural resources, and Treaty rights.”