The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said on Feb. 7, 2017, that they will abandon an environmental study for the Dakota Access Pipeline and grant an easement, which will allow the project to move towards completion despite protests from Native Americans and environmentalists.
The company, Energy Transfer Partners, needs the easement by the Army to complete the work under Lake Oahe in North Dakota. Energy Transfer Partners is the parent firm to Dakota Access, the company building the pipeline.
“With this action, Dakota Access now has received all federal authorizations necessary to proceed expeditiously to complete construction of the pipeline,” said Energy Transfer Partners.
The decision follows the executive order made by Trump on Jan. 24, 2017, to continue the construction of the 1,172-mile oil pipeline after Obama halted the construction on Dec. 4, 2016. The Completion of the DAPL pipeline was one of Trumps’s campaign promises, stating that it will create jobs.
The Standing Rock Sioux and their supporters have fought the pipeline project for months, saying that it threatened the reservations water source, disturbed sacred ground, and violated a 19th century treaty made with the federal government.
The many months of protests led the Department of the Army to grant an Environmental Impact Statement in the Federal Register in December before making the final decision. This statement allowed for anyone to help them identify potential issues, concerns, and reasonable alternatives that should be considered. The Standing Rock group wanted to ensure that it fully took into consideration tribal treaty rights, natural resources, cultural and sacred places, socio-economical concerns, environmental justice, and the health and well-being of those who rely on the drinking water, as stated on their website.
On Feb. 8, 2017, about 200 protesters gathered outside of the White House to protest the Army’s decision to allow the DAPL completion without an environmental study.
The Standing Rock Sioux stated they would challenge the legality of the Army’s decision to dismiss the Environmental Impact Statement, and have promised a fight.
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