Donna Solomon, the tribe’s legislative liaison, says at least two buses and several cars carrying tribal members will arrive Monday evening to the site of the protest in North Dakota, just north of the Standing Rock Indian Reservation.
Advertisement
Backers of the four-state Dakota Access oil pipeline now under construction filed a lawsuit in federal court Monday against protesters opposed to the project, including leaders of the Standing Rock Sioux Native American Tribe.
The order prevents the protestors from unlawfully interfering with pipeline construction or workers’ access to the site. It would carry Bakken Shale oil from North Dakota through South Dakota and Iowa to western IL.
BBC news reported that between 200 and 400 people, mostly Native Americans, gathered to protest near the Sioux tribe’s reservation, located near Fort Yates, North Dakota.
The tribe filed a lawsuit last month against the Army Corps of Engineers for approving the pipeline.
“We are constructing this pipeline in accordance with applicable laws, and the local, state and federal permits and approvals we have received”, said the ETP spokesperson, adding that the regional project has national benefits. But Dakota Access and other pipelines need to be thoroughly vetted, reviewed and include proper safeguards, she said. It said the project would impact drinking water and sacred sites on its 2.3-million-acre reservation.
As for the issue of job creation, the pipeline is expected to create 8,000 to 12,000 construction jobs according to Dakota Access’s DAPL own fact sheet.
Be proactive – Use the “Flag as Inappropriate” link at the upper right corner of each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Vicki Granado, a spokeswoman for Energy Transfer Partners, in a company statement thanked law enforcement for their efforts to ensure workers are kept safe during the protests.
“I wanted to support the Standing Rock people”.
“Frankly, a river crossing is probably the safest pipe in the pipeline because there are so many contingencies they prepare for”, he said. Construction was halted due to “safety concerns”, the company said.
“We’re ready for 5,000 campers”, said Joye Braun, a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and an organizer with the Indigenous Environmental Network.
Advertisement
Meanwhile, the North Dakota Department of Transportation announced Wednesday that Highway 1806 will be temporarily closed to southbound traffic 6 miles south of Mandan due to the protest.
