Hearing to decide fate of Dakota Access pipeline permit

By JAMES MacPHERSON and DAVE KOLPACK Associated Press
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A federal court hearing will determine whether the Dakota Access oil pipeline should be allowed to continue operating without a key permit while the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers conducts an environmental review on the project. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg wants the Corps to explain how it “expects to proceed” without a federal permit granting easement for the pipeline that began carrying oil from North Dakota to a shipping point in Illinois in 2017. The hearing Friday in Washington, D.C., was originally scheduled for February. But it was postponed to allow officials from President Joe Biden’s administration more time to familiarize themselves with the case.