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Earlier this month, a federal judge ordered the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers (ACE) to detail options by the end of the month for
resolving the loss of the permit.
On Wednesday, ACE and Dakota Access, controlled by Energy
Transfer LP <ET.N>, argued that the district court abused its
discretion in vacating the permit and ordering a thorough
environmental study to be conducted.
They also argued the court's ruling sets impossible standards
that would discourage major infrastructure investment, waste
government resources and pose economic and environmental harm.
"The district court's decision will create a new, heightened
standard of judicial review that will be impossible for agencies
to meet as they consider vital infrastructure projects," ACE
said in the brief.
The loss of the permit could force the 570,000 barrel-per-day
pipeline, the biggest out of North Dakota's Bakken shale region,
to be shut and drained.
The pipeline, which runs under a critical drinking water source
for the Sioux tribe in South Dakota, drew months-long protests
by environmental activists and Native American tribes before
coming into service in mid-2017.
Dakota Access has said it could lose billions of dollars if the
line was idled for an extended period.
(Reporting by Devika Krishna Kumar in New York; Editing by
Christopher Cushing)
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