On Tuesday, a federal appeals court upheld a district judge’s order for a full environmental impact review of the Dakota Access pipeline, but declined to shut the line down while the review is completed, The Associated Press reported.

The pipeline beneath the Missouri River crosses just north of the Standing Rock Reservation that straddles the North Dakota and South Dakota border. The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe obtains its water from the river.

Sen. Kevin Cramer issued the following statement regarding the Tuesday ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on the Dakota Access Pipeline:

“The Court of Appeals is right to reaffirm that the original ruling ordering the Dakota Access Pipeline to shut down was wrong. The Dakota Access Pipeline was created in full compliance with the direction provided by the Obama Administration, and it’s helped usher in an era of American energy dominance that is unfortunately now under attack. The Army Corps of Engineers should be allowed to proceed as they are without political interference from the Biden Administration. This is not another opportunity to wage war on North Dakota’s energy producers.

Sen. John Hoeven said, “The Dakota Access Pipeline is critical infrastructure for not only North Dakota’s energy industry, but also the American economy and our national security. At the same time, pipelines are one of the safest forms of transportation for oil. This project was built and operated in good faith under the Army Corps’ permitting process, and today the Circuit Court was right to reject the shutdown of the pipeline so that it can continue operating.”

Chase Iron Eyes, lead counsel for the Lakota People’s Law Project, said:

“Today’s ruling represents yet another legal validation that the Standing Rock Nation and its allies have been right all along. It’s time to shut down the Dakota Access pipeline. With the planet in the midst of a climate emergency, we are out of time for making allowances for the fossil fuel industry. Renewable energy technologies like wind and solar are actually cheaper than oil now, and these technologies present opportunities to put people to work in good paying jobs in the renewable energy sector. It need not be said that there can be no jobs on a dead earth. Instead of bullying Indigenous communities into accepting noxious infrastructure in violation of federal environmental law, our government should be providing stimulus to impoverished communities and promoting a new, green economy. Like the pandemic, the fossil fuel industry has an outsized impact on communities of color. We hope President Biden will act immediately, using his authority to confront the problems ravaging our communities and fund solutions that better our world.”