The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit [official website] ruled [order, PDF] against Native American tribes on Sunday, allowing construction on the Dakota Access Pipeline to move forward. The Standing Rock Sioux and the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribes sought a permanent injunction to block construction of the 1,170-mile pipeline, which they say would be built on sacred burial grounds and would pose an environmental risk to the surrounding rivers. In its ruling, however, the court said the final decision will be up to the Army Corps of Engineers [official website]. The chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe said [official statement, PDF] the pipeline will endanger millions of lives and the tribe will continue to fight against it, although it also noted that construction crews have already destroyed many historic burials and artifacts.

Last month a federal judge partially granted [JURIST report] the tribe’s request to suspend the construction of the North Dakota crude oil pipeline. The judge only granted a temporary restraining order pending a final ruling. Days later, federal agencies urged [JURIST report] pipeline owner Energy Transfer Partners to pause its lawful building after the federal judge ruled in the company’s favor. Late last month, a UN human rights expert also urged the US government to halt the construction [JURIST report] of the Dakota Access oil pipeline out of respect for the rights of affected Native Americans.