Giving Compass' Take:

• Phil McKenna reports that the Dakota Access Pipeline will need a more thorough environmental assessment after a federal judge ruled the prior assessment insufficient. 

• Lawsuits can be a slow but effective way to advance environmental causes. 

• Read about supporting women environmental leaders of color. 

In a major victory for opponents of the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline, a federal judge ruled on Wednesday that prior environmental assessments failed to fully consider the impact of the project. The Army Corps of Engineers will now have to undertake a more thorough review.

The pipeline crosses the Missouri River just upstream from the reservation of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North and South Dakota. The tribe gained international attention starting in the summer of 2016, as thousands flocked to the reservation in support of the tribe's opposition to the pipeline. The project was approved by the Trump administration and completed in June 2017.

It remains unclear however, whether the 1,200-mile pipeline, which ships crude oil from North Dakota to Illinois, will have to be shut down during the new assessment by the Corps, a process that could take years.

Read the full article about another blow for the Dakota Access Pipeline by Phil McKenna at InsideClimate News.