Army Corps continues to block Dakota pipeline: UpdateOREANDA-NEWS. October 11, 2016. The US Army Corps of Engineers said it still isn't ready to authorize construction on a portion of Energy Transfer's Dakota Access pipeline following a ruling from a federal appeals court to lift a temporary injunction.

The DC Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday dissolved an injunction that blocked construction on part of the 470,000 b/d pipeline being contested by the Standing Rock Sioux tribe.

The court reached its ruling just four days after holding oral arguments over the tribe's request for a lengthy construction freeze near a lake in North Dakota the tribe considers sacred. The tribe has argued that the US Army Corps of Engineers did not adequately consider the indirect effects of allowing the pipeline to cross land managed by the Corps.

But the court, in a two-page ruling, denied the request and lifted a three-week-old administrative injunction that had blocked pipeline construction within 20 miles of Lake Oahe. The court said the tribe failed to meet the requirements for an injunction, such as showing it faced "irreparable harm" and that it had substantial likelihood of eventually prevailing in court.

"We find the Tribe has not carried its burden of persuasion on these factors, and so we deny the motion," the court wrote.

In an unusual move, the Obama administration intervened in the case last month when the Army Corps said it would not issue a needed easement for the pipeline until it completed a broader review of the project. That process could be finished within weeks, or may take longer if the Corps finds its initial environmental review of the project was inadequate.

The Obama administration said today that the Army Corps continues to review issues raised by the Standing Rock and other tribal nations and hopes to conclude its ongoing review soon.

"In the interim, the Army will not authorize constructing the Dakota Access pipeline on Corps land bordering or under Lake Oahe," said a joint statement from the Army Corps, the Department of Justice and the Department of the Interior.

"We repeat our request that the pipeline company voluntarily pause all construction activity within 20 miles east or west of Lake Oahe," the agencies said.

During oral arguments on the case last week, an attorney for the pipeline said the company was not inclined to follow that request because it already had construction equipment in the area.

Energy Transfer is building the pipeline to carry crude from the Bakken formation to Illinois, where it will link to another pipeline that extends to Texas. The pipeline's route is mostly on private land, but about 3pc of the 1,136-mile (1,828km) pipeline crosses land managed by the corps.

The appeals court offered hope there could be further consultation about historic sites even though the tribe had failed to meet the "narrow and stringent standard" for an injunction.

Energy Transfer did not respond for comment. The tribe could not immediately be reached for comment.