USA Today reports:

U.S. Secretary of the Army Eric Fanning has informed tribal leaders that the Army Corps of Engineers will halt construction on the controversial Dakota Access pipeline, the chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe said here Sunday.

Dave Archambault II said the Army has denied the permit to bore under Lake Oahe, the reservoir behind the Missouri River in North Dakota. Native Americans and environmentalists have camped out near the lake for weeks protesting the 1,172-mile pipeline, which is intended to carry crude oil from the Bakken oil region in North Dakota to a distribution hub in Patoka, Ill.

“I wanted you to hear it from me,” the chairman said as people banged drums, danced and cheered in glee at the snowy camp. The Missouri River portion of the pipeline was the only remaining contested portion. A federal lawsuit in Washington, D.C. is still pending.

The easement marks a stunning victory for pipeline protesters in southern North Dakota.

MAIN Coalition, a right pro-pipeline coalition, called the move a “purely political decision.” “Unfortunately, it’s not surprising that the President would, again, use executive fiat in an attempt to enhance his legacy among the extreme Left,”