Army to allow Dakota Access pipeline construction

The Army Corps of Engineers plans to allow construction of the Dakota Access pipeline to continue imminently in response to an executive order by President Donald Trump. In the waning days of the Obama administration, the Army declined to issue an easement for building the pipeline under a Missouri River reservoir until further environmental studies were finished. An assessment conducted last year already determined running the pipeline under Lake Oahe would have minimal environmental impact, so Trump ordered the Army to reconsider the easement. A spokesman for Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., said the acting secretary of the Army has ordered Army Corps of Engineers to grant the easement, which will be issued within days. The company building the pipeline has already drilled entrance and exit holes under Lake Oahe and is posed to begin construction immediately.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.