UPDATE: Judge Likely to Make Decision on DAPL Operations in September

By Yessenia Funes Jun 21, 2017

Update, June 22, 10:30 a.m. ET:

During the status hearing yesterday (June 21), U.S. District Judge James Boasberg approved a schedule for the lawsuit, which would set September as the time he’s likely to make a decision on the Dakota Access Pipeline operations. Both sides, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and federal government, will have July and August to present written arguments on why the pipeline should or should not shut down.

“We would expect a decision sometime after that, probably September,” said Jan Hasselman, an attorney for the tribe, to The Associated Press.

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Water protectors standing in solidarity with the fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline are gathering today (June 21) in Washington, D.C., where the pipeline’s future may be decided.

U.S. District Judge James Boasberg is holding a status hearing on the case the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe launched against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in July last year, Standing Rock Sioux Tribe v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. This hearing follows Boasberg’s June 14 ruling that the controversial 1,172-mile long pipeline violated the National Environmental Policy Act.

Today, the judge will begin hearing whether the interstate pipeline should cease operations. There is speculation that Boasberg will make his decision today, but at least one reporter, Daniel Medina of NBC, has stated on Twitter that that won’t be happening:

Since Boasberg’s ruling last week, Energy Transfer Partners, the pipeline’s developer, has seen its stock drop to the lowest levels the company has seen so far. Per Nasdaq, the company’s stock has fallen from $19.76 per unit immediately after the decision to $18.82 per unit today.

Activists are set to rally outside of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. They include Tara Houska, national campaigns director for Honor the Earth, and Jasilyn Charger, a member of the International Indigenous Youth Council, will join members of the Standing Rock Sioux and Cheyenne River Sioux tribes in the protest.

Watch a livestream of the rally below or here on Facebook.