Dakota Access Operations Face ‘Little Risk’ For Now as Court Ruling Not Expected Until After Election

Parties to ongoing litigation challenging the continued operation of the Dakota Access Pipeline LLC (DAPL) have agreed to a schedule that would see the last brief filed in mid-December, raising the prospect that a ruling in the case won’t arrive until after the election.

Lawyers in the case, between the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe as plaintiffs and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and DAPL as defendants, filed a proposed briefing schedule Wednesday. That schedule sets a deadline for the plaintiffs to file a reply brief by Dec. 18.

According to analysts at ClearView Energy Partners LLC, this means Judge James Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Circuit likely won’t issue a decision on whether to grant an injunction...