WASHINGTON, D.C. (NewsDakota.com) – Senator John Hoeven emphasized the urgency of completing the environmental impact statement (EIS) process for the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) during a hearing of the Senate Energy and Water Development Appropriations Committee this week.

Highlighting the pipeline’s track record of over six years of safe operations, Hoeven underscored its advanced technology and safeguards, stressing its crucial role in bolstering U.S. energy security. He previously advocated for the pipeline’s continued operation while the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers undertakes the court-ordered review.

Expressing concern over the prolonged EIS process, Hoeven pointed to the uncertainty it poses for energy production in North Dakota and the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara (MHA) Nation. Although the draft EIS was released in September, the Army Corps has yet to establish a timeline for issuing a final EIS and Record of Decision (ROD).

During the hearing, Hoeven called on Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Michael Connor and Army Corps Chief Lt. Gen. Scott Spellmon to expedite the resolution of the EIS process and provide final approval for DAPL.

“The Dakota Access Pipeline takes the light sweet crude produced by North Dakota and the Three-Affiliated Tribes and helps deliver it to markets across the country. That’s oil we don’t need to import from our adversaries, like Russia, Venezuela, and OPEC, because we produce it right here at home,” Hoeven emphasized. “We’ve been waiting on this EIS process for years, all while the pipeline has operated without incident. Considering the pipeline’s vital importance both to our economic and national security, we need this process to be resolved and for the final approval to be issued.”