Biden administration asks for more time to decide whether to shut down Dakota Access Pipeline

The Biden administration is asking for more time to decide the fate of the Dakota Access Pipeline.

In a filing late Monday, the government asked a court to postpone a conference on the status of the pipeline for 58 days while it gets new officials up to speed on the case.

“Department of Justice personnel require time to brief the new administration officials and those officials will need sufficient time to learn the background of and familiarize themselves with this lengthy and detailed litigation,” the government said.

It asked for the Feb. 10 conference to be moved to April 9.

The government’s motion was opposed by Dakota Access LLC, but was not opposed by the tribes who sued over the pipeline.

Last month, a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., ruled that the government should have conducted an environmental impact statement before going forward with the pipeline and vacated easements granted for its construction to cross federally owned land.

However, it did not go as far as a lower court, which had previously ordered the pipeline shut down, leaving that decision up to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).

The court also left room for additional litigation to potentially shut down the pipeline if the USACE decides against it.

The pipeline, which carries oil from North Dakota to Illinois, has drawn significant opposition from environmentalists and tribes over the years who have cited threats to drinking water and sacred sites. It has spurred massive protests.

The pipeline was completed in 2017 after it was revived by former President TrumpDonald TrumpDOJ to seek resignations of most Trump-appointed US attorneys: report Trump attorney withdraws request to not hold impeachment trial on Saturday Kinzinger in op-ed calls on GOP senators to convict Trump in impeachment trial MORE, who reversed an Obama administration decision to deny it a permit.

President BidenJoe BidenDemocrats say Trump impeachment defense ‘wholly without merit’ A US-Israel defense treaty has benefits — and perils White House: Biden won’t spend much time watching Trump impeachment trial MORE in his first days in office has revoked a permit for the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, which would have transported oil from Canada to the U.S, and Dakota Access opponents are hoping he will similarly shut down the other pipeline.

However, his Keystone move has garnered significant pushback from Republicans.