The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on Friday denied Dakota Access LLC’s petition for rehearing, rebuffing efforts to restore vacated federal approval for the pipeline to cross under Lake Oahe.

Dakota Access

By denying the petition the appeals court stood by its January decision to uphold a U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia decision vacating an easement granted to Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The easement gave DAPL authority to pass beneath the large reservoir located behind the Oahe Dam on the Missouri River in South Dakota.

Friday’s ruling comes as opponents of Energy Transfer LP’s 570,000 b/d crude oil conduit have been seeking an injunction to force the pipeline to cease operations while the Army Corps completes a...