Standing Rock Sioux Tribe sues again to shut down the Dakota Access Pipeline

The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe filed a new federal lawsuit seeking to shut down the Dakota Access oil pipeline crossing beneath Lake Oahe, renewing a fight that has lasted nearly a decade.

What the lawsuit asks for

The case was filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration along with three federal officials. The tribe wants the court to overturn the Army Corps May record of decision that granted a new easement for the river crossing upstream of the reservation.

It also seeks to rescind federal approvals of spill response plans and to block oil moving through that stretch of the Missouri River until those plans meet federal law.

Water and treaty rights

Lake Oahe is the tribe's sole source of drinking water. Chairman Steve Sitting Bear said Standing Rock's concerns about safety and treaty rights have not changed in ten years and that the Corps moved forward without answering them.

"Until this pipeline is shut down, we will continue to defend what generations before us protected for our children," Sitting Bear said.

Capacity and review history

A federal judge in 2020 ordered a fuller environmental review of the crossing. The Corps issued a final environmental impact statement in December 2025 and a May 2026 record of decision authorizing a new easement. The tribe says that review still fails on spill response and risks to water.

The pipeline moves roughly 500,000 to 525,000 barrels a day from North Dakota's Bakken field toward Illinois. Reviews have considered capacity as high as 1.1 million barrels a day. Industry and state officials call the line safe and necessary. Energy Transfer has said it crosses well below the riverbed and meets regulations. The Corps and the company did not comment on the new filing.