The Standing Rock Sioux tribe said it has received assurances that the troops will not enter the camp.
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The lawsuit alleges that the pipeline, which would be placed less than a mile upstream of the tribe’s reservation, could impact drinking water for more than 8,000 tribal members and millions who rely on it downstream. Outrage over the pipeline has galvanized Native American tribes and environmentalists across the U.S.
Nonetheless, the judge wrote, the tribe “has not demonstrated that an injunction is warranted here”.
They asked the pipeline company to voluntarily halt construction while the Army reconsiders the decision to proceed under the National Environmental Policy Act or other federal laws.
“In the interim, we request that the pipeline company voluntarily pause all construction activity within 20 miles east or west of Lake Oahe”.
The DOJ outlined the need for “serious discussion on whether there should be nationwide reform with respect to considering tribes’ views on these types of infrastructure projects”.
The company plans to complete the pipeline this year, and said in court papers that stopping the project would cost $1.4 billion the first year, mostly due to lost revenue in hauling crude. Energy Transfer Partners denied the allegations. The corps was not required to consider the effects along the entire pipeline route because the corps has jurisdiction only where the route crosses water, he noted.
The Standing Rock Sioux tribe says the pipeline construction could desecrate sacred lands, including grave sites and culturally important stone features.
“Protesters physically assaulted private security officers hired by Dakota Access Pipeline”.
“The fact that several other tribes did participate in consultation early on is an indication that the Corps did its job”, Cramer said.
Immediately following, the U.S. Department of Justice stepped in, issuing a joint statement with the Department of the Army.
Dakota Access and its parent company, Energy Transfer Partners LP of Dallas, declined to comment.
September is National Lice Awareness Month, but most people aren’t aware of those cringe-worthy critters until they’re dealing with a full-on infestation.That was the issue Stacey Cole faced when her children became infested with lice.”I just didn’t know what I was supposed to do, what I needed to do in the house, what I needed to do to their heads”, Cole said.That helpless feeling comes at a time when a new study reports most states are overrun by what’s often called “super lice”.
The tribe says it will appeal.
The tribe filed an emergency motion Sunday asking the court “to prevent further destruction of the tribe’s sacred sites by Dakota Access Pipeline”. It was less than the tribe had requested and expires at midnight Friday night.
“There’s never been a coming together of tribes like this”, according to Judith LeBlanc, a member of the Caddo Nation in Oklahoma and director of the New York-based Native Organizers Alliance.
Construction on the controversial section of the pipeline began in mid-August. Last weekend, protests at the site turned violent. It led to Saturday’s clash between protesters and private security guards; law enforcement officials said four security guards and two guard dogs were injured, while a tribal spokesman said six people were bitten by the dogs and at least 30 people were pepper-sprayed.
It would carry oil from just north of land owned by the Standing Rock Sioux tribe to IL, where it would connect with an existing pipeline and route crude directly to refineries in the US Gulf Coast.
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“We’re going to continue to (fight this battle) as long as it takes to try and have his nation recognize the injustices that are being implemented on our nation”, he said.
