US Army Corps of Engineers notifies Congress it will allow DAPL easement

The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has notified Congress that it will allow the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) to move forward. The Justice Department filed court documents stating that the USACE will allow the pipeline to go under Lake Oahe, in North Dakota. The crossing is needed to complete the pipeline. The 30-inch-diameter, 1 886-km-long pipeline is expected to transport about 470 000 bbl/d of oil, but the pipeline has capacity to transport 570 000 bbl/d. Total North Dakota oilfield crude oil output in September was 962 000 bbl/d. The Standing Rock Sioux tribe has been fighting against the development of the pipeline, owing to concerns over a pipeline leak that could threaten drinking water and because the pipeline goes through sacred tribal ground. It has promised to continue fighting the easement in the courts.