Federal officials intervened in the ongoing dispute between the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation and Texas-based Energy Transfer over the construction of the Dakota Access oil pipeline on Friday, and ordered a work stoppage of the pipeline construction on federal land.
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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 federal court ruled against the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe today but, in a stunning move, three federal agencies have blocked the pipeline at Lake Oahe pending a thorough review and reconsideration of the process. “The Tribe has not shown it will suffer injury that would be prevented by any injunction the Court could issue”, he said.
The US government has paused construction of the pipeline, ordering the pipeline’s construction company to temporarily halt construction on a stretch of land within 20 miles of Lake Oahe, which is held sacred by a Native American tribe.
A series of “game-changing” developments impacting the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) battle on Friday afternoon were testament to the power of organizing. The thousands of protesters camping out near Lake Oahe thrust the pipeline onto the national stage, and questions about tribal relations and federal oversight of oil pipelines are now up for fierce debate.
The Standing Roc Sioux argued the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers did not do enough to consult with tribal members.
It would span from just north of land owned by the Standing Rock Sioux tribe to IL, where it would connect with an existing pipeline.
“We have respected and protected the right of individuals to protest even when protests have disrupted our community”, Morton County Commission Chairman Cody Shulz said in a statement released after the judge’s ruling.
According to the New York Times, the government decision came from the Justice and Interior Departments and the Army which urged the pipeline company to pause construction.
The announcement said tribes had raised important issues “regarding the Dakota Access pipeline specifically, and pipeline-related decision-making generally”. The argument they put forth is that not only is the Dakota Access Pipeline causing destruction to a site which holds great historic, religious, and cultural significance to the tribe, but also violates the National Historic Preservation Act.
At a solidarity rally in San Francisco, I met Indigenous Mindanao activists fighting for their rights in the Philippines, who read a statement of solidarity with the Standing Rock Sioux.
But then the Obama administration stepped in and stopped construction on federal land.
“Working with engineers, agriculture experts and farmers, the Dakota Access team conducted on-the-ground surveys of the proposed route to ensure that the route had taken into consideration every aspect of the land in order to mitigate any risks”.
“We were very apolitical in the decisions we made”, he said.
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Energy Transfer Partners officials did not return phone calls or emails from The Associated Press seeking comment. “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 shut down halfway through completion of its project”.
