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U.S. Won’t Shut Dakota Access Pipe Amid New Environmental Review

  • Decision is a win for pipe owner Energy Transfer and customers
  • Opponents are expected to continue push to shut oil pipeline
Environmental protesters demonstrate against the Dakota Access pipeline, in Washington, D.C., on April 1.

Environmental protesters demonstrate against the Dakota Access pipeline, in Washington, D.C., on April 1.

Photographer: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

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The Dakota Access pipeline that’s been at the center of a years-long battle between oil companies and the Standing Rock Sioux tribe won’t be forced to shut down while federal regulators conduct a new environmental analysis.

The Biden administration’s decision to allow the line to keep operating is a victory for pipeline owner Energy Transfer LP and drillers such as Continental Resources Inc. that use it transport crude from North Dakota’s Bakken oil field. The move will likely come as a relief to an oil industry beset by President Joe Biden’s aggressive climate campaign, which has included canceling the permit for the $9 billion Keystone XL oil pipeline and pausing leasing on federal lands.