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RECENT PROJECT UPDATE

USACE publishes final Dakota Access Pipeline Environmental Impact Statement 

OMAHA, Neb. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District has published the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) evaluating Dakota Access, LLC’s request for an easement under the Mineral Leasing Act for the Dakota Access Pipeline. The pipeline has been in operation since 2017 and crosses beneath federally managed land at Lake Oahe, North Dakota. 

Publication of the Final EIS represents the completion of the National Environmental Policy Act environmental review process and precedes USACE’s consideration of a Record of Decision. The Final EIS incorporates and considers input received from Tribes, federal and state agencies, and the public during the Draft EIS comment period.

Under Section 28 of the Mineral Leasing Act, federal agencies may grant easements for privately owned oil and gas pipelines that cross federal land. The Omaha District prepared the Final EIS to evaluate Dakota Access, LLC’s request to continue operating the existing pipeline where it crosses beneath federally managed land at Lake Oahe pursuant to this authority.

Publication of the Final EIS does not constitute a decision. Following publication of the Final EIS in the Federal Register, a 30-day waiting period is required under National Environmental Policy Act. After that period concludes on January 20, 2026, the USACE may issue a Record of Decision identifying a selected alternative for implementation and any associated commitments.

The Final Environmental Impact Statement is available online at:

Volume I DAPL Final EIS Report: https://usace.contentdm.oclc.org/utils/getfile/collection/p16021coll7/id/28531

Volume II DAPL Final EIS Appendices: https://usace.contentdm.oclc.org/utils/getfile/collection/p16021coll7/id/28532

OR

Environmental Protection Agency: https://cdxapps.epa.gov/cdx-enepa-II/public/action/eis/details?eisId=540916

The Federal Register Notice of Availability of the Final EIS posted on December 19, 2026:
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/12/19/2025-23436/environmental-impact-statements-notice-of-availability

 

Point of Contact

Final EIS questions or request for clarification can be emailed to NWO-DAPL-EIS@usace.army.mil or mailed to the address below through the waiting period that will end on January 20, 2026.

Attn: Brent Cossette
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
CENWO-ODT-N
1616 Capitol Avenue
Omaha, NE 68102

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DAPL and NEPA Information

Project Background

On July 25, 2016, the Corps granted permission to applicant Dakota Access, LLC, under Section 14 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899, 33 U.S.C. 408 (Section 408), for a proposed pipeline crossing under Lake Oahe approximately 0.5 miles upstream of the northern boundary of the Standing Rock Reservation. The approximately 1,172-mile pipeline connects the Bakken and Three Forks oil production areas in North Dakota to an existing crude oil market near Patoka, Illinois.

The Section 408 permission was supported by a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) based on an Environmental Assessment (EA), that was prepared in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). This EA/FONSI was completed on July 25, 2016, the date that the Corps granted the Section 408 permission.

On February 8, 2017, the Corps granted an easement, with conditions, to cross federal property administered by the Corps at Lake Oahe, North Dakota. The Corps granted the easement under the Mineral Leasing Act (MLA), 30 U.S.C. 185. The easement allowed for the installation, construction, operation, maintenance, repair, replacement, and termination of a 30-inch diameter horizontal directional drill buried oil pipeline for the purpose of transporting crude oil, and related facilities, at or under Lake Oahe Project in North Dakota, with a 50-foot-wide right-of-way width plus the ground occupied by the pipeline and related facilities. Operation of the pipeline began on June 1, 2017.

On March 25, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ordered the Corps to prepare an EIS for this portion of the pipeline because the pipeline’s “effects on the quality of the human environment are likely to be highly controversial.” 

Consistent with the Court’s decision, Dakota Access, LLC seeks an easement from the Corps for the original proposed project whose construction was completed on June 1, 2017.  A decision on whether to authorize the pipeline to cross Lake Oahe at the proposed location would be based on: (1) the July 25, 2016, EA/FONSI; (2) the Corps’ August 31, 2018, analysis on remand from a decision by the District Court; and (3) additional analysis developed through this EIS.

Public Scoping under NEPA

The public scoping period the Dakota Access Pipeline Environmental Impact Statement initially occurred from September 26, 2020 to October 26, 2020.  However, an extension was granted and comments were ultimately received until November 26, 2020.

Tribal and Public Meetings

The Omaha District conducted one Tribal meeting on October 13, 2020 and two virtual public meetings on October 15 and 16, 2020. The DEIS was published on September 8, 2023. Two in-person Tribal meetings and two in-person public meetings were held on November 1 and 2 of 2023. In addition to the in-person public meetings, Omaha District held three virtual Tribal meetings on November 8, 2023 and December 6 and 7, 2023.