Pipeline work put on pause
NEAR THE STANDING ROCK SIOUX RESERVATION, N.D. — The federal government stepped into the fight over the Dakota Access oil pipeline Friday, ordering work to stop on one segment of the project in North Dakota and asking the Texas-based company building it to “voluntarily pause” action on a wider span that an American Indian tribe says holds sacred artifacts.
The government’s order came minutes after a judge rejected a request by the Standing Rock Sioux to halt construction of the $3.8 billion, four-state pipeline.
The tribe, whose cause has drawn thousands to join their protest, has challenged the Army Corps of Engineers’ decision to grant permits for the pipeline at more than 200 water crossings. Tribal leaders allege that the project violates several federal laws and will harm water supplies. The tribe also says ancient sites have been disturbed during construction.
The tribe’s chairman, Dave Archambault II, spoke at the state Capitol in front of several hundred people, some carrying signs that read “Respect Our Water” and “Water Is Sacred.” He called the federal announcement “a beautiful start” and told reporters that the dispute is a long way from over.
“A public policy win is a lot stronger than a judicial win,” he said. “Our message is heard.”
A joint statement from the Army and the Departments of Justice and the Interior said construction bordering or under Lake Oahe would not go forward and asked the Texas-based pipeline builder, Energy Transfer Partners, to stop work 20 miles to the east and west of the lake while the government reconsiders “any of its previous decisions.”
The statement also said the case “highlighted the need for a serious discussion” about nationwide reforms “with respect to considering tribes’ views on these types of infrastructure projects.”
Vicki Granado, a spokeswoman for the company, said it had no comment.
The president of the North Dakota Petroleum Council said he was disappointed with the government’s decision to intervene and called it “flagrant overreach” that will result in more oil being moved by trucks and trains.
The 1,172-mile project will carry nearly a half-million barrels of crude oil daily from North Dakota’s oil fields through South Dakota and Iowa to an existing pipeline in Patoka, Illinois.
In denying the tribe’s request for a temporary injunction, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg in Washington said that the court “does not lightly countenance any depredation of lands that hold significance” to the tribe and that, given the federal government’s history with the tribe, the court scrutinized the permitting process “with particular care.”
Nonetheless, the judge wrote, the tribe “has not demonstrated that an injunction is warranted here.”
