VANCOUVER (miningweekly.com) – Acting Secretary of the Army Robert Speer has ordered the Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to proceed with the easement needed to complete the Dakota Access Pipeline.

“This will enable [Dakota Access] to complete the project, which can and will be built with the necessary safety features to protect the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and others downstream,” North Dakota Senator John Hoeven said in a statement this week.

The USACE had been directed to allow work under Lake Oahe, a reservoir on the Missouri river.

US President Donald Trump recently signed an executive order marking his support for the pipeline, insisting that the order was contingent upon pipeline makers using US-made materials and equipment.

The USACE said in a statement to Mining Weekly Online that the US Army has initiated the steps outlined in the January 24 Presidential directive, which directs the acting secretary of the US Army to expeditiously review requests for approvals to build and operate the Dakota Access Pipeline in compliance with the law.

“These initial steps do not mean the easement has been approved. The Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works) will make a decision on the easement once a full review and analysis is completed in accordance with the directive,” USACE chief of public affairs Malcolm Frost said.

The USACE, which carries the approval authority, decided last year to explore alternative routes for the pipeline following protests by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, who fear the pipeline may pollute their source of potable water and damage sacred burial grounds.

Native Americans, who have rallied in protest against the Dakota Access Pipeline for months, vowed legal action to stop it. “The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe will vigorously pursue legal action to ensure the environmental impact statement (EIS) order issued late last year is followed so the pipeline process is legal, fair and accurate.

“The Army Corps lacks statutory authority to simply stop the EIS and issue the easement. The Corps must review the Presidential memorandum, notify congress and actually grant the easement. We have not received formal notice that the EIS has been suspended or withdrawn," the tribe said in a statement.

It continued to note: “To abandon the EIS would amount to a wholly unexplained and arbitrary change based on the President’s personal views and, potentially, personal investments. We stand ready to fight this battle against corporate interest superseding government procedure and the health and wellbeing of millions of Americans.”

The $3.7-billion pipeline is designed to transport about 470 000 bbl/d of crude oil across four states, from North Dakota to a terminal in Illinois, where it can be shipped to refineries.