Attorney General Becerra Joins Amicus Brief in Support of Tribes in Dakota Access Pipeline Lawsuit

Wednesday, September 23, 2020
Contact: (916) 210-6000, agpressoffice@doj.ca.gov

SACRAMENTO – California Attorney General Xavier Becerra today joined a coalition of 18 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief in support of the Standing Rock and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribes in their lawsuit challenging the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (Army Corps) approval of the Dakota Access Pipeline. In July, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled in the Tribes' favor in Sioux Tribes, et al. v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, finding that the Army Corps violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) when it approved the Dakota Access Pipeline without conducting any environmental review and ordered the pipeline to shut down within 30 days. In the amicus brief, the coalition argues that the District Court's ruling blocks Dakota Access from continuing to use its pipeline, and urges the U.S. Court of Appeals to affirm the ruling. 

“The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers broke the law when it jammed through the Dakota Access Pipeline without a second thought for the environmental and public health consequences for the Standing Rock and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribes,” said Attorney General Becerra. "When you cut corners, it just costs you more time and money down the line. But instead of learning this simple lesson, the Army Corps continues to refuse to do the critical groundwork that the law requires. We stand with the Tribes in their fight to ensure that the Dakota Access Pipeline complies with the National Environmental Policy Act.” 

The Dakota Access Pipeline is designed to carry crude oil from North Dakota to Illinois, crossing several waterways along its 1,200-mile path. One of these is Lake Oahe, an artificial reservoir in the Missouri River, that was created after the United States took Native American land to construct a dam. Today, the Standing Rock and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribes rely on the lake for drinking water, agriculture, industry, and sacred religious and medicinal practices. Following the Army Corps' granting of an easement to Dakota Access to construct a pipeline under Lake Oahe, the Tribes filed a lawsuit to stop the project.

On July 6, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ordered Dakota Access to shut down its pipeline and empty it of oil. The District Court determined that the Army Corps violated NEPA in approving the pipeline by failing to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement that fully evaluated the risks of an oil spill. The District Court also vacated the Army Corps’ decision to grant Dakota Access an easement under the Mineral Leasing Act.

The Army Corps subsequently appealed the ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals, which temporarily stayed the lower court's order that the pipeline cease operation and be drained of oil. In the amicus brief, the multistate coalition urges the U.S. Court of Appeals to affirm the District Court ruling, arguing that:

  • Federal agencies must comply with NEPA prior to taking an agency action;
  • A finding of non-compliance with NEPA mandates vacatur of the agency's decision in most cases; and
  • Vacatur of a federal permit blocks any activity that requires such a permit.

Attorney General Becerra joins the attorneys general of Massachusetts, Connecticut, Delaware, Guam, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia, as well as Harris County, Texas, in filing the amicus brief.

A copy of the brief can be found here.

# # #