"State officials are now in a position to have a strong voice on the issue, and the federal government’s announcement on the pipeline doesn’t mean the project is cleared to move ahead", said Frazier Haney, conservation director of the Mojave Desert Land Trust, which opposes the project. “This may be an illusion that they’re close to building their project, but they still have some significant challenges to deal with,” Haney said.

"This latest decision by the Department of the Interior makes clear that the federal government is intent on rolling back environmental protections on public lands in the California desert," said Frazier Haney, the group's conservation director.