FARGO, N.D. — A federal judge has handed a lifeline to efforts to block the Dakota Access pipeline, ruling Wednesday that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers didn’t adequately consider the possible impacts of an oil spill where the pipeline passes under the Missouri River.

U.S. District Judge James Boasberg said in a 91-page decision that the corps failed to take into account how a spill might affect “fishing rights, hunting rights, or environmental justice, or the degree to which the pipeline’s effects are likely to be highly controversial.”

The judge said the Army must redo its environmental analysis in certain sections and he’ll consider later whether the pipeline must halt operations in the meantime. A status conference is scheduled for next week.

U.S. Department of Justice spokeswoman Nicole Navas Oxman said the department is reviewing the ruling.