By Devika Krishna Kumar
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Dakota Access on Monday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to revisit whether the largest pipeline out of the North Dakota oil basin requires additional environmental review.
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia revoked a key environmental permit for the pipeline last year and ordered an additional environmental study.
The pipeline entered service in 2017 following months of protests by environmentalists, Native American tribes and their supporters. Opponents said its construction destroyed sacred artifacts and posed a threat to Lake Oahe, a critical drinking supply, and the greater Missouri River.
Energy Transfer, which operates the 570,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) pipeline out of the Bakken shale basin, has said its pipeline is safe.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was expected to complete its review of the pipeline in March 2022.
The pipeline’s operators said in their petition additional review is unnecessary and that it would impose burdens for other large infrastructure projects.
“This case carries enormous ramifications for the oil industry, its workers, and the nation,” the companies said in the petition.
The company did not immediately comment on Monday. Lawyers for the tribes did not immediately comment.
(Reporting by Devika Krishna Kumar in New YorkEditing by Chris Reese and Sonya Hepinstall)
