D.C. Circuit Denies Request to Rehear Dakota Access Pipeline Permitting Case
On Friday, April 23, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit denied Dakota Access LLC’s request for a rehearing on a three-judge panel ruling that the Dakota Access Pipeline (the “DAPL”) is operating without a key federal permit. By denying the petition, the appeals court stood by its January decision, which upheld the lower court’s determination that the DAPL’s federal easement to cross beneath Lake Oahe, a reservoir along the Missouri River in North Dakota, violated the National Environmental Policy Act.
The court issued the denial without explanation. Judges Cornelia Pillard and Gregory Katsas did not participate, and no judges dissented. Dakota Access will likely push its case to the U.S. Supreme Court.