© Josh Morgan / Reuters
The Army Corps of Engineers has been instructed to supply the final permit necessary to finish building the controversial and heavily debated Dakota Access pipeline. Two North Dakota Republican lawmakers who supported the project told The Washington Post that the Corps had been ordered to grant an easement for the pipeline to run under Lake Oahe, a reservoir that is the drinking-water source for the Standing Rock Sioux reservation. “This will enable the company to complete the project,” Sen. John Hoeven said, “which can and will be built with the necessary safety features to protect the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and others downstream.” Last week, President Trump issued a memorandum ordering the Army Corps to “review and approve in an expedited manner, to the extent permitted by law and as warranted… for approvals to construct and operate” the pipeline.