Standing Rock asks appeals court to revive DAPL lawsuit over Corps actions

The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe urged the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse a March dismissal of its lawsuit against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, arguing the agency is allowing the Dakota Access Pipeline to operate at Lake Oahe without a valid easement, according to the North Dakota Monitor. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg threw out the case in March, finding the tribe was relitigating claims from a 2016 suit. “This appeal is a necessary step to hold the Corps accountable,” Standing Rock Chair Steve Sitting Bear said in a statement on Friday.

The tribe says the Corps’ yearslong inaction on an environmental impact statement and easement is an ongoing violation, and alleges failures on spill response standards and cultural site protections. Energy Transfer, whose affiliates own Dakota Access, called the claims “old, untrue.” The North Dakota Monitor reports that responses from the federal government, intervening states and Dakota Access are due by early January.