Governor says Dakota Access pipeline will likely be built under Trump

The Dakota Access pipeline will likely be built without a hitch once President-elect Donald Trump takes office, North Dakota’s new governor says.

“I expect the world’s going to change dramatically on that day relative to finding resolution on this issue,” Gov. Doug Burgum (R) told Reuters in an interview published Friday. “I would expect that [Energy Transfer Partners] will get its easement and it will go through.”

President Obama denied ETP a permit needed to complete construction on the pipeline last month. Trump, however, has said he would review that decision.

{mosads}The controversial pipeline, which is intended to transfer oil from North Dakota to a shipping point in Illinois, has been the subject of protests by the Standing Rock Sioux tribe and activist groups, who argue that it threatens a local water supply and Native American cultural sites.

The Army Corps of Engineers announced last month that it would explore other routes for the massive $3.8 billion pipeline. But Trump has expressed his support for the oil project as originally envisioned, meaning he could revisit the Obama administration’s decision.

Burgum was elected last year on promises of streamlining state government. He has also accused the Obama administration of stalling the project for political purposes, urging the president to issue the necessary easement to complete the pipeline.

“If the current administration will not act, then I will ask the Trump administration to do the same thing,” Burgum said in a video statement in December.