An easement for the Dakota Access oil pipeline in southern North Dakota will not be granted, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Sunday.
The decision is a victory for protesters camped near the construction site for the four-state, $3.8 billion project. The group has claimed that the project, located near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, would threaten Native American cultural sites and a water source.
In a statement, the National Congress of American Indians lauded the decision, noting that "our prayers have been answered." The group has been leading the protests against the controversial pipeline, which is mostly complete except for the now-blocked segment underneath Lake Oahe, a Missouri River reservoir.
“This isn’t over, but it is enormously good news,” NCAI President Brian Cladoosby said. “All tribal peoples have prayed from the beginning for a peaceful solution, and this puts us back on track.”
In a news release, Assistant Secretary for Civil Works Jo-Ellen Darcy said her decision was based on the need to "explore alternate routes" for the pipeline's crossing.
“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,” Darcy said in the release. “The best way to complete that work responsibly and expeditiously is to explore alternate routes for the pipeline crossing.”
The federal government has ordered people to leave the main encampment, which is on Army Corps of Engineers' land, by Monday, The Associated Press reported. Protesters said they are prepared to stay, and authorities have said they won't forcibly remove them.
The company building the pipeline, Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners, had said it was unwilling to reroute the project. It and the Morton County Sheriff's Office, which has done much of the policing of the protests, didn't have immediate comment, the AP reported.
About 250 veterans supporting the protesters gathered about a mile from the Oceti Sakowin, or Seven Council Fires, camp in southern North Dakota for a meeting with organizer Wes Clark Jr.
Veterans Stand for Standing Rock's GoFundMe page had raised $1,106,276 of its $1.2 million goal by Sunday afternoon. That money has been earmarked to go toward food, transportation and supplies.
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