BISMARCK, N.D. – Early last week, the Army Corps of Engineers said it has completed its review of the hotly disputed Dakota Access pipeline. They have said that they want to conduct further study and seek more tribal input before making a decision on whether or not to allow the pipeline to cross beneath a North Dakota Missouri River reservoir.
In July, the corps gave permission to developer Energy Transfer Partners to go ahead, but in September it changed its tune, saying more analysis was needed in light of American Indian interests. The reservation land, owned by the Standing Rock Sioux, would be closely skirted by the $3.8 billion, pipeline- which would run through four states. The Sioux claim that the pipeline threatens their drinking water and important cultural sites.
The ETP has challenged these claims and said that it is preparing to bore beneath the river.
Jo-Ellen Darcy, the Army Assistant Secretary, said in a letter to ETP officials and tribal Chairman Dave Archambault, “additional discussion with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and more analysis are necessary.” That discussion will include possible conditions on the easement that would be necessary for the pipeline crossing which would reduce the risk of environmental contamination via spills.
In the letter, Darcy said the Army will work closely with the tribe to develop a timeline “that will allow for a robust discussion and investigation to be completed promptly.” An Army spokeswoman, Moira Kelley, declined to elaborate in her message to The AP on whether or not a decision would be reached by the time President Obama leaves office. Donald Trump, a supporter of the pipeline, is waiting to take office in January.
The pipeline, which would stretch 1,200-miles will facilitate crude oil transport from North Dakota oil through the states of South Dakota and Iowa to an Illinois shipping point.
The company constructing the $3.8 billion Dakota Access pipeline issued a statement preceding the Army announcement last Monday that it believes construction efforts should be completed by Dec. 1, with the exception of the disputed section located in North Dakota, and that they will be able to begin moving crude oil early in 2017 if the government grants approval.
In an email to The AP, the Dallas-based ETP claimed that it would finish the pipeline in under 120 days after getting the approval it needs for the easement which would run beneath the Lake Oahe Missouri River reservoir in the southern region of North Dakota.
During all these talks, officials cordoned off the North Dakota Capitol as pipeline opponents had gathered there on the day before groups had planned over 200 protests around the offices of the Army Corps of Engineers and other sites all across the country.
Nearly 470 protesters have been arrested since August supporting the Standing Rock Sioux.
ETP said it has suffered millions of dollars in losses due to vandals damaging their equipment all along the pipeline in North Dakota. The company claims that it was in the process of taking steps to protect their pipeline from vandalism, but refused to go into detail.
Rallies scheduled for Tuesday at the state Army Corps offices, federal buildings, the offices of banks, and other entities responsible for the financing of the project are now aimed at drawing the president’s attention.
These groups, which include Honor the Earth, Greenpeace USA, and the Indigenous Environmental Network, want President Obama to bring the project to a permanent halt. The focus of news outlets and social media on the confrontations between protesters and police in North Dakota have been garnering international attention for months.
A UN group representing indigenous people all around the world said the U.S. Federal government is ignoring the human and treaty rights of American Indians who oppose the pipeline.
The U.N.’s statement issued in November at the Forum on Indigenous Issues charged the government to “protect traditional lands and sacred sites, and recognize the human rights of the Standing Rock Sioux.”
Edward John, a Forum member, visited a camp in North Dakota in late October where hundreds of protesters have gathered from around the world. He described what he found as a “war zone” and reported, “I felt as if I was in an armed conflict taking place on foreign soil.”
While President-Elect, Donald Trump has said that he is in favor of granting the easement necessary for the pipeline, many Trump supporters have commented that where Obama has been silent, Donald Trump might listen to the concerns of tribal people.
~American Liberty Report
