Standing Rock: Dakota Access Pipeline will no longer cross under the Sioux reservation

The US Army denied a key permit for the project on Sunday

(Getty)

The Army Corps of Engineers will not grant a key permit for the Dakota Access Pipeline to cross under the lake on the Standing Rock reservation in North Dakota, securing an enormous win for the Native American community and protesters who opposed the construction.

“Although we have had continuing discussion and exchanges of new information with the Standing Rock Sioux and Dakota Access, it’s clear that there’s more work to do,”Jo-Ellen Darcy, the Army’s assistant secretary for Civil Works, announced in a statement on Sunday afternoon. “The best way to complete that work responsibly and expeditiously is to explore alternate routes for the pipeline crossing.”

1,172-mile-long pipeline would have sent roughly 470,000 barrels of crude oil under the Missouri River per day. A leak or spill could have contaminated the Native American community’s drinking water supply.

Standing Rock Sioux Tribal chairman Dave Archambault II said that his community will be forever grateful to the Obama administration for its decision to pursue alternative routes for the project.

“We wholeheartedly support the decision of the administration,” he said in his statement, “and commend with the utmost gratitude the courage it took on the part of President Obama, the Army Corps, the Department of Justice, and the Department of the Interior to take steps to correct the course of history and to do the right thing.”

However, today’s announcement is not a complete victory for protesters. As the Obama administration’s days in office come to an end, it’s unclear if President-elect Donald Trump, who owns stock in the company spearheading the project, will continue supporting the project. In recent days, he’s claimed that his support has nothing to do with his monetary investment in the company.

The National Congress of American Indians immediately responded to the announcement by saying that the fight is far from over.

“This isn’t over, but it is enormously good news,” President Brian Cladoosby said in the statement. “All tribal peoples have prayed from the beginning for a peaceful solution, and this puts us back on track. From the start, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe has asked for a full analysis to consider threats to the water and environment, and also the social and cultural impacts. Peace, prayer, and the water protectors have led to the right outcome.”

Over the weekend, thousands of veterans joined protesters who oppose the Dakota Access pipeline to build shelters in the frigid conditions and prevent clashes with local law enforcement in the area who have injured hundreds of people who oppose the $3.8 billion project.

By Sunday afternoon, Veterans Stand for Standing Rock raised more than $1 million on its GoFundMe page to help fund transportation, food and camping supplies for military vets joining the movement against the pipeline.