In a dramatic series of moves late Friday afternoon, a federal judge rejected the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s lawsuit against the US government over the $3.8 billion Dakota Access Pipeline that crosses four states.
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Judge James Boasberg of the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., said in his opinion that there is not enough evidence that allowing the pipeline to proceed would harm the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe that sued to stop the pipeline’s construction.
The $3.7 billion, 1,100-mile (1,770 km) Dakota Access pipeline would carry oil from just north of land owned by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe to IL, where it would hook up to an existing pipeline and route crude directly to refineries in the U.S. Gulf Coast.
Members of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe met outside the steps of the Washington, D.C., courthouse August 25 to protest the construction of the pipeline, which they say would wreak havoc on their native lands and cause widespread water contamination.
The Army now decides whether to reconsider the path of the pipeline’s construction.
The tribe wants to halt further construction on an area two miles west of North Dakota Highway 1806, near Lake Oahe, until the judge’s ruling.
A rally against the Dakota Access pipeline is scheduled for Friday afternoon at the North Dakota Capitol, and many of those gathered at the protest site are expected to make the approximately 45-mile trek. The pipeline is slated to connect North Dakota’s oil fields to a pipeline in IL. Thousands of people have protested the proposed pipeline, including Green Party Presidential candidate Jill Stein.
While it didn’t initially say much on this subject, it now appears the Obama administration feels the concerns of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe must be taken seriously.
The $3.8 billion pipeline will carry 450,000 barrels of crude oil each day from North Dakota to IL.
Dave Archambault II, the chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, hailed the decision, and vowed to continue fighting against the project.
The tribe believes the new pipeline threatens sacred Sioux lands and the water supply for residents in the state.
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“The fight is not over and just because an appointed group of people who were supposed to provide justice for us, they failed”, Bobby Robedeaux said. “Native peoples have suffered generations of broken promises and today the federal government said that national reform is needed to better ensure that tribes have a voice on infrastructure projects like this pipeline”. There have been dozens of arrests since the protest started weeks ago. ETP says the pipeline includes safeguards such as leak detection equipment, and workers monitoring the pipeline remotely in Texas could close block valves on it within three minutes if a breach is detected. Gov. Jack Dalrymple has activated the North Dakota National Guard, with a handful of soldiers providing security at traffic checkpoints, and another 100 on standby to respond to any incidents. According to one tribe leader, over 30 people were pepper sprayed while six people were bitten by attack dogs.
