US delays Dakota pipeline as Trump promises quicker reviews

Bloomberg

The Obama administration has yet again delayed a decision on the controversial Dakota Access crude pipeline, even as President-elect Donald Trump vows to speed up reviews of such projects.
The US Army Corps of Engineers said that it’ll hold more talks with a Native American tribe potentially affected by the pipeline before deciding on a permit that’s key to finishing the $3.8 billion project spanning four states. The news came just a day before environmentalists planned to protest at Army Corps offices
nationwide, calling for a permanent rejection of the project.
Dakota Access developer Energy Transfer Partners LP has found itself at the center of an intensifying debate over the need for new pipelines in the US While the Obama administration has stalled the project, Trump has said federal approvals for energy infrastructure need to come quicker. Dakota Access has meanwhile become a rallying point for the anti-fossil fuel movement and has drawn intense opposition from Native Americans who say it’ll damage culturally significant sites.
“At the end of the day, the Obama administration doesn’t want to do it, and this is a way to buy additional time,” said Christine Tezak, managing director of research at ClearView Energy Partners LLC in Washington. Ultimately, it may be up to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe to decide whether “they want to cut a deal with the Obama administration or cut a deal with Trump,” she said. Energy Transfer Chief Executive Officer Kelcy Warren described the Army Corps’ delay in a statement late Monday as an action “motivated purely by politics,” calling the additional review a “sham process.” The company said the pipeline has already gone through a comprehensive review and that it would “vigorously pursue its legal rights in this matter.”
The Army Corps said Monday that it’ll “work with the Tribe on a timeline that allows for robust discussion and analysis to be completed expeditiously.” The delay prevents Energy Transfer from finishing the 1,172-mile (1,886-kilometer) network that it expects to place into service in the first quarter. The Army Corps decided to review its prior approval of the project after objections were raised by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.