Thursday, August 16: Yesterday, the Sierra Club achieved a significant legal victory in its fight to stop the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. Following the State Department’s hasty approval of the pipeline shortly after Trump took office, the Sierra Club filed suit under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Endangered Species Act. One of the main arguments in the lawsuit, brought by Senior Attorney Doug Hayes, was that the State Department violated NEPA by relying on an outdated environmental impact statement (EIS) from 2014, and thus must prepare a robust supplemental EIS. In a written order, Judge Brian Morris agreed and ordered the agency to prepare that analysis. Although the judge has not yet ruled on the other claims in the lawsuit, this development will shine additional light on the project’s impacts and is likely to further delay the embattled pipeline.