The Army Corps announced Sunday that the Dakota Access pipeline will be rerouted. Here are the numbers that show what lies ahead.

The federal government on Sunday denied the easement needed to complete the Dakota Access pipeline’s route under the Missouri River.

The announcement by the Army Corps of Engineers came as veterans streamed into the camps over the weekend in cars and buses to offer their support to the tribe in its months-long battle. The veterans event had raised more than $1 million dollars in response to violent assaults on the demonstrators by law enforcement. The veterans said they would shield the demonstrators.

The Department of the Army will not approve an easement that would allow the proposed Dakota Access pipeline to cross under Lake Oahe in North Dakota, the Army’s Assistant Secretary for Civil Works announced today.

Jo-Ellen Darcy said she based her decision on a need to explore alternate routes for the Dakota Access pipeline crossing.

“Although we have had continuing discussion and exchanges of new information with the Standing Rock Sioux and Dakota Access, it’s clear that there’s more work to do,” Darcy said in the announcement. “The best way to complete that work responsibly and expeditiously is to explore alternate routes for the pipeline crossing.” 

Darcy said that the consideration of alternative routes would be best accomplished through an environmental impact statement with full public input and analysis.

Dallas Goldtooth, a lead organizer at Standing Rock and the Indigenous Environmental Network, said in a Facebook statement that this is a tremendous victory for the tribe and for everyone who supported Standing Rock. However, he cautioned that this is not “a clear cut denial of the pipeline” but rather a plan to look at re-routing. Basically, he said, for the remainder of this administration, this pipeline route will not receive approval. “It’s a demonstration that we are on the verge of winning this fight.”