The proposed Dakota Access Pipeline would carry fracked oil from North Dakota through Iowa and IN to IL, cutting under the Missouri River less than a mile upstream from the Standing Rock Sioux’s drinking-water supply as well as disrupting the tribe’s sacred and historical land pipeline, opponents say.
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The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe failed in its bid to have a judge make the federal government’s “voluntary” stoppage an order; while at the same time, the Dakota Access pipeline company says it remains committed to the project.
Protests are planned across the country as part of a national day of action “calling on President Obama to reject this dirty and risky proposal”, organizers said in a statement.
Mr. Warren said he wanted to refute misinformation about the pipeline, which has been criticized for putting the Sioux tribe’s water supply at risk where the pipeline would cross the Missouri River. That announcement came after a federal judge rejected the tribe’s request for a temporary injunction barring construction of the pipeline near their reservation.
After a week that saw violent protests and intervention by the federal government, the chief executive of the corporate parent of Dakota Access, the company building the Bakken pipeline, asked his employees to remain “thoughtful and professional” and to contact their elected representatives.
ETP CEO Kelcy Warren said in an internal memo made public that ETP “intends to meet with officials in Washington to understand [the government’s] position and reiterate our commitment to bring the Dakota Access Pipeline into operation”.
Iron Eyes, a Standing Rock Sioux member who said he was an early supporter of Sanders, said he was happy the Vermont senator was “stepping up” in the pipeline dispute.
More than a dozen people were arrested at protests over the weekend in Iowa, where the state’s utility board has granted eminent-domain rights to the Texas company backing the pipeline, affecting hundreds of landowners. The Obama administration has temporarily halted pipeline construction under Lake Oahe, on the Missouri River, and in the 20 miles surrounding the area, but construction has continued on other parts of the 1,172-mile route.
The Department of the Army will not authorize work on the pipeline on Corps land near or under the lake “until it can determine whether it will need to reconsider any of its previous decisions” according to a September 9 U.S. Department of Justice news release.
“We hope and trust that the government will base its final decision on sound science and engineering, not political winds or pressure”, Stevens said. The tribe says the project will disturb sacred sites and impact drinking water. About 40 have been arrested as the protest has grown in size, including Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Chairman David Archambault II. “No sane American company would dare expend years of effort and billions of dollars weaving through an onerous regulatory process receiving all necessary permits and agreements, only to be faced with additional regulatory impediments and be shutdown halfway through completion of its project”.
Also Tuesday, Energy Transfer Partners worked with the sheriff’s office to remove construction equipment that was damaged last week by protesters near State Highway 6.
Sanders interpreted Warren’s memo – which states “the right of way for the entire pipeline has been obtained” – as a refusal to halt construction while a new review takes place.
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The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe sued the Corps in federal court over its decision to issue a permit to cross Lake Oahe, arguing the agency failed to properly consult the tribe and consider the pipeline’s impact on sacred sites.
