US army engineers defer decision on Dakota Access pipeline
November 15, 2016
US army engineers want more study on the controversial Dakota Access pipeline. The Standing Rock Sioux tribe claim the project could contaminate its water supply and destroy sacred sites.
Image: REUTERS/S. Keith
Advertisement
The Army Corps of Engineers has finished a review of the disputed Dakota Access pipeline but wants more study and tribal input before deciding whether to allow it to cross under a Missouri River reservoir in North Dakota.
In a joint statement, the Departments of the Army and the Interior said on Monday that they wanted additional discussion due to concerns about protecting Lake Oahe, a sensitive, federally-owned water source. The Standing Rock Sioux tribe says the project could contaminate its water supply and destroy sacred sites.
Army Assistant Secretary Jo-Ellen Darcy said in a letter to company officials and tribal Chairman Dave Archambault that "additional discussion with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and analysis are warranted." Discussions are to include possible easement for the pipeline crossing that would reduce the risk of a spill.
Darcy also cited the history of "repeated dispossessions" of the Great Sioux Nation in her letter.
Image: Reuters/A. Cullen
Project 60 percent built
While the corps granted developer Energy Transfer Partners (ETP) the permits it needed in July, it said in September more analysis was warranted due to American Indian concerns about the $3.8 billion (3.5 billion-euro) project. The Standing Rock Sioux reservation will be skirted by the pipeline which is already 60 per cent built. It is to carry oil from the Bakken oil field in North Dakota through South Dakota and Iowa to a refinery and shipping point near Chicago in Illinois.
Darcy said the Army will work with the the Standing Rock Sioux on a timeline "that allows for robust discussion and analysis to be completed expeditiously."
President-elect Donald Trump's financial disclosure forms show he has between $500,000 and $1 million invested in Energy Transfer Partners, the parent company of Dakota Access, which is developing the Dakota Access Pipeline and $500,000 to $1 million holding in Phillips 66, which will have a 25 percent stake in the Dakota Access project once it is completed.
Developers hope to complete construction of the pipeline, except for the disputed North Dakota section, by December 1. The first movements of crude could begin in early 2017 if the government gives approval. Trump will take office in January.
Native American tribe clashes with police in Dakota oil pipeline protests
In the latest clash in the US state of North Dakota, police used pepper spray and rubber bullets to disperse protesters. The local Standing Rock Sioux tribe has been fighting the pipeline's construction since 2014.
Image: Reuters/S. Keith
The pipeline advances
A vehicle passes by pipes intended for use in the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline. The conduit is meant to bring up to 570,000 barrels of crude oil daily from fracking fields in North Dakota to Illinois, passing through territory that historically has belonged to Native Americans.
Image: Reuters/J. Morgan
Anger from the local Sioux
The Standing Rock Sioux tribe has opposed the project since its proposal in 2014. Though the pipeline will not cross into Sioux territory, tribal leaders argue it will disturb historical burial grounds and could endanger the tribe's source of water, the Missouri River, under which the pipeline is supposed to pass. The company building the pipeline claims it has taken precautions against this.
Image: Reuters/S. Keith
Defiance
A man faces police across the Cantapeta Creek outside the Standing Rock Reservation near the town of Cannon Ball, North Dakota, where construction of the pipeline is underway.
Image: Reuters/S. Keith
Pipeline protests
Opponents of a new oil pipeline near the Standing Rock Indian Reservation gathered outside Cannon Ball, North Dakota, on November 2, 2016
Confrontation at Cantapeta Creek
A police officer uses pepper spray against protesters standing in Cantapeta Creek near the pipeline construction site. The resistance of the local tribe has gained international attention in recent weeks and the number of protesters has swelled. Even celebrities Mark Ruffalo and civil rights activist Jesse Jackson have joined in.
Image: Reuters/J. Patinkin
Relief for the eyes
A protester is treated with pepper spray antidote after a confrontation with the police. Tribal leaders allege that police have engaged in excessive force against protesters, leading the UN to investigate possible human rights abuses.
Image: Reuters/S. Keith
Consolation
After clashing with the police in Cantapeta Creek a young woman is consoled by a fellow protester.
Image: Reuters/J. Patinkin
Too late to make a change?
An elderly protester raises her arm during demonstrations against the pipeline. On November 1, US President Barack Obama said that the federal government is considering re-routing the pipeline in response to opposition.
