Sept 9 North Dakota’s governor activated 100 National Guard troops on Thursday ahead of an expected ruling by a federal judge on a Native American tribe’s request to halt construction of a crude oil pipeline that has drawn fierce opposition and protests. It said it would invite tribes to “formal, government-to-government consultations” on the federal government’s role in tribal infrastructure projects.
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The Hill obtained a statement from Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Chairman Dave Archambault II, who was realistic about the ongoing battle to protect the land that the $3.7 billion pipeline would effect. Energy Transfer Partners, the company building it, say that the pipeline is more environmentally friendly than transporting the oil via trucks or trains.
The Obama administration blocked the construction of the Dakota Access pipeline, at least temporarily, on Friday after a court had ruled that its construction was legal.
Thousands of protesters – mostly Native Americans – have traveled to the Standing Rock reservation over the past few weeks to camp nearby and show solidarity with the tribe’s bid to halt the pipeline.
The issue with the pipeline, protesters say, is that the pipeline would run through land belonging to the tribe, which could have harmful effects. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., put Dakota Access on the same footing as Keystone XL oil pipeline, which the White House denied in part on environmental grounds.
The tribe filed a lawsuit against the Corps, saying it did not adequately consider the potential environmental impacts of the project. The agencies requested that Dakota Access voluntarily pause all construction activity within 20 miles east or west of the lake.
The U.S. government, including the Army Corps of Engineers, ordered work to stop on the Dakota Access Pipeline on federal land and urged the pipeline companies to do the same on private land despite an earlier ruling by a federal judge turning down a similar request.
It claims those concerns were not properly addressed by the pipeline’s developer and the US Army Corps of Engineers, the governmental body responsible for approving construction under the river (the state approved the rest of the route). He said “the court scrutinizes the permitting process here with particular care”.
Dakota Access says on its website that it expects the pipeline to transport about 470,000 barrels of crude oil every day from production areas in North Dakota’s Bakken and Three Forks production areas through South Dakota, Iowa and into IL, while also creating thousands of construction jobs and generating millions in tax revenue for those four states.
The Army Corps of Engineers has declined to comment, citing the pending litigation.
Arrests were made in Iowa at a landowners’ protest last week.
Over the summer, a controversy of David and Goliath proportions has been bubbling up in North Dakota. “According to several reports from security officers, knives were pulled on them or they witnessed protestors with large knives”.
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The Corps had supported the temporary work stoppage on Wednesday in order to prevent further clashes between protestors and private security guards near construction sites.
