Native American protesters are anxious that the $3.7 billion pipeline will affect drinking water from the Missouri River and disturb sacred tribal sites.
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A US federal court refused a request by the Standing Rock Sioux tribe to halt construction of an oil pipeline, but the federal government stepped into the dispute Friday, appealing for calm and ordering the pipeline construction company to suspend its work on federal land.
Minutes after a federal judge Friday crushed the Sioux’s hopes for an injunction on the 1,200-mile oil project, the Obama administration stepped in with its own plan to press pause – drawing a quick shift from outrage to elation from pipeline opponents.
That decision likely influenced the Army’s announcement, which saw the writing on the wall. The Standing Rock Tribe has since been joined by hundreds of other supporters, including other Native American activists and environmental groups.
The tribe argued that sacred sites had been damaged.
The three departments released an official statement mentioning the case highlights the need to consider “nationwide reform with respect to considering tribes’ views on these types of infrastructure projects”.
The tribe had challenged the Army Corps of Engineers’ decision to grant permits at more than 200 water crossings for Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners’ $3.8 billion pipeline, saying that the project violates several federal laws, including the National Historic Preservation Act, and will harm water supplies.
The statement also invited Native American tribes to continue ongoing talks about their concerns regarding pipelines and similar infrastructure projects.
The Dakota Access pipeline would transport about 470,000 barrels of crude a day from western North Dakota down to central IL. 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. First U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg denied the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s request for an injunction stopping the building of the oil pipeline.
The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe sued to stop the project after it was approved by the Army Corps of Engineers and a federal judge ruled Friday that regulators had acted properly when issuing permitting for the project, according to The Hill. We urge everyone involved in protest or pipeline activities to adhere to the principles of nonviolence.
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The original route for the proposed pipeline crossed the Missouri River further north, upstream of Bismarck, the state capital, but the route was changed when the company said it found that the new route near Standing Rock was shorter and less costly. Now the Corps will go back and determine whether it should reconsider any of the conclusions the agency made that led to approving the pipeline. But a lot of the work done by the Energy Transfer Partners on the Dakota pipeline was done without adequate consultation, Jose said. “I think it is very unsafe for government institutions to weigh in as heavily handed as this”.
