Dakota Access Avoids New Shutdown Order From Federal Court (3)

A federal district court won’t force the Dakota Access pipeline to shut down while federal regulators conduct a new environmental analysis.

The oil project -- at the center of a years-long battle between oil companies and the Standing Rock Sioux tribe -- may remain in service even though it lacks a valid federal easement for a water crossing in North Dakota, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia said Friday. The pipeline’s easement was scrapped in an earlier court ruling for inadequate environmental review.

The ruling, which may be appealed, is a relief for operator Energy Transfer LP, ...