The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has given final approval for the Dakota Access Pipeline crossing beneath Lake Oahe.
The decision was signed Thursday and grants an easement for the pipeline to keep operating at the Missouri River reservoir north of the Standing Rock Reservation.
The pipeline has carried Bakken crude from North Dakota to Illinois since 2017.
The Lake Oahe crossing has been tied up in court and federal review for years. A federal judge ordered a deeper environmental review in 2020 after the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe challenged the earlier approval.
The Corps now says the pipeline can continue operating, but with added conditions. Those include enhanced leak detection, more groundwater and surface water monitoring, water supply planning, and independent review of pipeline safety systems.
The decision does not approve new pipeline segments.
Standing Rock leaders continue to oppose the project and say they are reviewing legal and political options.
The North Dakota Monitor has extensive reporting on the decision.
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