First it was Keystone XL. Now it’s the Dakota Access Pipeline. Both projects are crucial for the transporting and supplying of fuel in the U.S. and beyond. Economically, it’s a win-win. But in both cases, the Obama administration has bowed to pressure from ecofascists.

As we recently reported, the Army Corps of Engineers previously determined that the planned route for the Dakota Access Pipeline — which has been sanctioned by the courts — made the most sense. But that was before protesters hijacked the project. This week the Army Corps, which began backtracking in September when it called for another pipeline evaluation, all but retracted its initial approval.

“The Army has determined that additional discussion and analysis are warranted in light of the history of the Great Sioux Nation’s dispossessions of lands, the importance of Lake Oahe to the Tribe, our government-to-government relationship, and the statute governing easements through government property,” according to a statement released Monday. Therefore, “[C]onstruction on or under Corps land bordering Lake Oahe cannot occur because the Army has not made a final decision on whether to grant an easement.”

“This is simply crazy,” writes Hot Air’s Jazz Shaw. “If there is even a chance that the government will bow to the demands of the protesters, what happens to the tens of millions of dollars that Energy Transfer Partners has already dumped into this endeavor? A pipeline with a huge gap in the middle of it isn’t much use to anyone. The company acted in good faith on the assurance from the government that the project had a green light to move forward. This is essentially a breach of contract on the part of the government and you can just smell the fingerprints of the White House and their ‘keep it in the ground’ friends all over it.”

What makes these obfuscatory measures even more puzzling is that the energy sector has been an economic lifeline under the Obama administration. Without it, who knows where the economy would be today. Ecofascists, some of whom have absolutely zero respect for other people’s property, are working overtime to quash an industry that’s done much to keep the power on. If there’s any good news, it’s that the current administration’s days of calling the shots are nearly over.