Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Chairman Dave Archambault II is expected to speak from the North Dakota Capitol on Friday afternoon. Tribal leaders allege that the project violates several federal laws and will harm water supplies.
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Despite the ruling, the agencies said, “important issues raised by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and other tribal nations and their members regarding the Dakota Access pipeline specifically, and pipeline-related decision-making generally, remain”.
The $3.7 billion Dakota Access pipeline was constructed as part of the North Dakota oil boom that has attracted billions of dollars to the state, and would carry almost 500,000 barrels of oil daily to IL.
“I I think the people who are in solidarity for the people of Standing Rock and other surrounding tribes are prepared for the long haul”, demonstrator Kelly Nixon said.
Robedeaux couldn’t be happier with the support Oklahomans are showing for Standing Rock Sioux, especially after hundreds showed up at a rally at Tulsa’s Guthrie Green.
President Barack Obama said Friday that construction on the almost 2,000-mile pipeline would be shelved until the government can determine the effects it will have on the environment.
Federal Court Judge James Boasberg said the Tribe failed to make the case for an injunction to stop construction of the 1,886 kilometre pipeline, which would pump about 500,000 barrels per day of fracked oil from the Bakken fields in North Dakota to IL where it would connect with existing infrastructure.
A protest at North Dakota state capitol against the Dakota Access Pipeline on September 7, 2016.
Almost 40 people have been arrested since the protest began in April, including tribal chairman Dave Archambault II, though none stemmed from Saturday’s confrontation between protesters and construction workers. They also set the stage for a nationwide reform, establishing consultation with tribes regarding the need for meaningful tribal input for all pipeline projects in the future.
The Obama administration said it would momentarily stop the construction of a hotly disputed North Dakota oil pipeline, potentially gifting protesters a victory shortly after suffering a debilitating court loss. This story also clarifies that the federal government stopped construction near Lake Oahe and requested the company do so on a wider stretch.
Critics, however, contend that sacred sites were never threatened by the pipeline – a view reflected in the judge’s ruling.
Until the permits can be reviewed, the Departments of Justice, Army, and the Interior have asked Energy Transfer Partners to “voluntarily pause” construction on a 40-mile stretch of pipeline.
When workers recently plowed under locations mentioned by the tribe in a court filing as being sacred or historic, tribe members tried to intercede and were stopped by private security workers, some using guard dogs and pepper spray.
‘We call upon all water protectors to greet any decision with peace and order, ‘ Archambault said.
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But the tribe’s lawsuit alleged that the Army Corps of Engineers and the pipeline company did not adequately consider the potential environmental impacts of the project and did not seek the tribe’s counsel on the cultural ramifications.
