People rally on the grounds of the state Capitol in Bismarck, N.D., Friday, Sept. 9, 2016, following a federal judge’s ruling in Washington denying a request by the Standing Rock Sioux tribe to halt construction on the Dakota Access pipeline, a thousand-mile pipeline being built to carry North Dakota crude oil across four states to IL.
Advertisement
In denying the tribe’s request for a temporary restraining order, US District Judge James E. Boasberg wrote Friday that the court “does not lightly countenance any depredation of lands that hold significance to the Standing Rock Sioux” and that it “scrutinizes the permitting process here with particular care”.
More than a dozen members of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe traveled to North Dakota to join in a protest against an oil pipeline they say would threaten the water supply and desecrate sacred lands. Williams said they put the boat in at Bismarck, North Dakota and floated roughly 30 miles down the Missouri River to the protest site.
The pipeline’s route runs right by the Standing Rock Sioux reservation.
Tribal officials challenged the Army Corps of Engineers’ decision to grant permits for Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners’ $3.8 billion pipeline that is meant to carry oil from North Dakota to IL. While we are troubled this situation even reached this level of contention, we are grateful that it is now sparking meaningful conversations never held at this level of government – conversations that actually take into consideration the needs and wishes of tribes when it comes to infrastructure projects such as the Dakota Access Pipeline. “Having done so, the Court must nonetheless conclude that the Tribe has not demonstrated that an injunction is warranted here”.
“The spirit out there is incredible”, said Ruth Hopkins, a reporter for Indian Country Today, who was born on the Standing Rock Reservation.
When fully connected to existing lines, the 1,100-mile (1,770 km) Dakota Access pipeline would be the first to carry crude oil from the Bakken shale, a vast oil formation in North Dakota, Montana and parts of Canada, directly to the US Gulf.
Tribal historian LaDonna Brave Bull Allard said after the ruling that it gives her “a great amount of grief. We will continue to stand united and peaceful in our opposition to the pipeline”. Tribe members tried to intercede.
Attorney Jan Hasselman with environmental group Earthjustice, who filed the lawsuit in July on behalf of the tribe, said in the days before the ruling that it’ll be challenged.
State authorities announced this week that law enforcement officers from across the state were being mobilized at the protest site.
In a joint statement, the US Justice and Interior Departments and the Army acknowledged “important issues raised by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and other tribal nations”.
Almost 40 people have been arrested since the protest began in April, including Archambault. Energy Transfer said the pipeline would bring an estimated $156 million in sales and income taxes to state and local governments.
A weekend confrontation between protesters and private security guards left some guards injured and some protesters with dog bites. A North Dakota state regulatory body approved its construction after a 13-month review of its safety and impact on culturally significant lands. 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.
Advertisement
In his ruling Boasberg said he could not concur with claims by the Standing Rock Sioux that the government erred in approving the Dakota Access pipeline.
