MAIN Coalition Statement on Refusal To Grant An Easement at Lake Oahe

Following the Obama Administration’s decision to not grant an easement for the Dakota Access Pipeline at Lake Oahe, MAIN Coalition spokesman Craig Stevens issued the following statement:

“This purely political decision flies in the face of common sense and the rule of law.  Unfortunately, it’s not surprising that the President would, again, use executive fiat in an attempt to enhance his legacy among the extreme Left.  That the President continues to believe that he is above the law is simply un-American and it is this arrogance that working class Americans soundly rejected on November 8.  For millions of hard-working people across the heartland, January 20 cannot come soon enough.

“President Obama’s decision not to issue the final easement is a rejection of the entire regulatory and judicial system, as well as the scores of Army Corps of Engineers and civil servants who toiled for more than 800 days to ensure the process was followed correctly, in accordance with the law.

“The pipeline – at no point – crosses the Standing Rock Sioux tribe’s reservation, is collocated with a three-decades old natural gas pipeline, and has received all requisite state and federal approvals.  The only remaining piece of the 1,172-mile puzzle was the final easement for a 1,000 foot portion abutting Lake Oahe.  There is no reasonable logical, factual, environmental, or scientific reason for this not to be issued – in fact the Army Corps of Engineers had already recommended the approval of the easement.

“With President-elect Trump set to take office in just a few weeks, we are hopeful that this is not the final word on the Dakota Access Pipeline.”

-###-


Snopes: Bismarck Never Rejected Dakota Access Route

Respected fact checking website, Snopes.com responded on Wednesday to misguided rumors that the Dakota Access Pipeline was rerouted around Bismarck as a result of local opposition.

CLAIM: The Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) was re-routed through the Standing Rock Reservation after Bismarck’s mostly-white residents refused to allow it near their water supply.

WHATS TRUE: The U.S Army Corps of Engineers originally considered a Dakota Access Pipeline route north of Bismarck but abandoned the idea, citing eleven miles of additional pipeline length and dozens more crossings.

WHATS FALSE: “Mostly white” residents of Bismarck did not refuse to accept the threat to their water supply, and the project was not subsequently forced upon tribes at Standing Rock because white people rejected the risk.

The post goes on to cite an article in the Bismarck Tribune that explains why the current route was always the preferred route:

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers evaluated the Bismarck route and concluded it was not a viable option for many reasons. One reason mentioned in the agency’s environmental assessment is the proximity to wellhead source water protection areas that are avoided to protect municipal water supply wells.

In addition, the Bismarck route would have been 11 miles longer with more road crossings and waterbody and wetland crossings. It also would have been difficult to stay 500 or more feet away from homes, as required by the North Dakota Public Service Commission, the corps states.

The Bismarck route also would have crossed an area considered by federal pipeline regulators as a “high consequence area,” which is an area determined to have the most significant adverse consequences in the event of a pipeline spill.

Bismarck Mayor Mike Seminary recently echoed these findings, saying that at no point did local officials discuss the alternate route north of the city.

“Bismarck has never been involved in that discussion. Not one policy maker, not one department head, not one city employee has ever been involved in a discussion with regards to a route north of Bismarck …. So move on from that subject. You are wrong and you are creating issues,” Seminary said during a November press conference.


Army Corps Orders DAPL Protester to Leave, Then Says Won’t Enforce

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is cracking down on Dakota Access Pipeline opponents who have been illegally camping in federal lands since August.

In a November 25th letter to Standing Rock Sioux Chairman David Archambault, Omaha District Commander Colonel John Henderson said the area, which is home to the Oceti Sakowin camp, will be closed to public access starting on December 5th due to safety concerns stemming from oncoming winter weather and recent clashes with law enforcement officials.

Not surprisingly, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and other protest organizers have vowed to remain at their camp, which has been the subject of increased scrutiny following revelations that permanent structures are being built in violation of federal law.

North Dakota’s top elected officials welcomed the Army Corps’ move to evict protesters, but also questioned whether the Obama Administration would follow through and enforce the order.

“The decision by the Army Corps is a needed step to support the safety of residents, workers, protestors, and law enforcement,” said North Dakota Senator Heidi Heitkamp. “Safety must remain the top priority for everyone, and to help make that possible, it’s critical protestors peacefully and lawfully move off of the Corps land north of the Cannonball River and to the identified federal and tribal lands.”

Senator John Hoeven also backed the decision to require pipeline opponents to leave federal lands north of the Cannonball River. “In light of violent protest activity, the Corps has taken a necessary step to protect public safety. Now, the protesters should respect the law and peacefully leave the protest area,” he said in a statement. “Now, state, local, tribal and federal authorities need to coordinate their efforts to help ensure that the protesters comply and leave.”

Governor Jack Dalrymple responded to the Army Corps’ decision Saturday, saying it will be up to the federal government to enforce the eviction notice. “Our state and local law enforcement agencies continue to do all they can to keep private property and public infrastructure free from unpermitted protest activities, and it’s past time that the federal government provides the law enforcement resources needed to support public safety and to enforce their own order to vacate,” Dalrymple said in a statement.

The Army Corps said Sunday that it “has no plans for forcible removal” of protesters who remain after the December 5th deadline, suggesting that the eviction notice merely serves as hollow political rhetoric. If this is true, it would represent yet another disturbing example of Obama Administration’s complete disregard for the rule of law. It begs the question, why have rules if they aren’t enforced?


Misinformation Dominates Yet Again in Out-of-Touch Congressional Letter

In a letter addressed to President Obama, Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) and Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA) along with 21 other Democratic members of the House of Representatives again presented another argument riddled with misinformation and emotion rather than the on-the-ground facts concerning the ongoing Dakota Access Pipeline protests.

The most important point in this letter to once again debunk is that at no point does this pipeline cross Standing Rock Sioux land. Period.

The current route not only parallels an existing pipeline, The Northern Border Pipeline, as well as an electrical transmission line, but the route was specifically selected because the area had already been surveyed for cultural and archaeological artifacts. Thus the land Dakota Access will run underneath has already been excavated, at least twice, leaving little chance of an encounter with an unknown site. Additionally, the North Dakota State Historic Preservation Office found that no articles or items of cultural significance were within the pipeline construction corridor.

But importantly, the protests have not been peaceful at all. In fact, protesters have engaged in a myriad of violent and illegal activities. They have set firesslaughtered livestockfired at gun at law enforcement officersburned a bridge, terrorized journalists, and repeatedly trespassed on private property. All the while the federal government has refused aid to North Dakota law enforcement, forcing state resources to provide adequate protection for themselves and for private property. What has been construed as “militarism” is in reality defending the lives of union workers and residents of Morton County.

The federal response to the actions of the protesters has been disappointing. Following an extensive and thorough two year review, including analysis by the state of North Dakota as well as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, political decision makers have forced the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to delay the final easement approval following the onset of illegal protest activity. Though the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe had the opportunity to voice their comments and concerns during the regulatory processes in North Dakota, South Dakota, and throughout the public review and comment process for the Corps, they failed to do so, and are now holding up a legally permitted infrastructure project.

Everyone has a right to peaceful assembly, and to freely speak their mind. But the actions in Morton County have far exceeded any reasonable litmus test for what constitutes free speech. The Federal Government’s inaction continues to create and foster an environment that is hostile and unfair to local community members and law enforcement officers who call the area home.


The Army Corps of Engineers Deserves Thanks, Not Attacks, for Dakota Access Pipeline Work

As a retired Army major general, I know what a challenging job uniformed public service can be. The hazards are enormous, the financial rewards small, and the work never ending. Those who wear the uniform do so out of duty and love of country. Although they do not seek public recognition for their service, they deserve at the very least to be treated as the professionals they are.

In the last several months, one group of extremely hard-working and dedicated U.S. Army professionals serving here in the Midwest has been singled out for consistent and sustained public mistreatment not for any wrongdoing on their part, but as part of an organized campaign to discredit a nearly completed oil pipeline.

Continue Reading >>


Spider Marks: Pipeline Smear Campaign Must End

Having failed to stop the Dakota Access pipeline through both the regulatory process and the federal court system, opponents have resorted to dirty politics.

In their most shameful tactic yet, they are trying to smear the reputation — and end the career — of a decorated Army combat veteran and respected civil servant whose professional decisions they dislike. This must not be allowed to stand.

The now-famous protests against the 1,172-mile pipeline (which is more than 80 percent complete) began last summer when, with no evidence, leaders of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and their political allies sought to delegitimize the pipeline by accusing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers of acting illegally and in bad faith.

Continue Reading >>


The Dakota Access Debate Has Grown Out of Proportion

The Washington Post recently published a supportive opinion editorial from former Senator J. Bennett Johnston (D-LA) and Daryl Owen of Owen Associates which examined how the protest and activity over the Dakota Access pipeline has grown of proportion.

From violent protest activity to millions of dollars of damage to equipment and even disturbing death threats to employees – the tactics being deployed against the project are unseemly and unnecessary.

In the column, Johnston and Owen highlight efforts of sabotage against operational pipelines across the country and the danger that such actions can create. They write that the protests are no longer about opposition to the project, but rather a new tool in the effort to stop the development and use of fossil fuels.

In addition to examining the true nature of the protest and the violence ensuing, Johnston and Owen highlight that, “[t]his is, after all, a pipeline project,” and not simply the first of which would cross the Missouri River – it would be one of dozens that do so carrying American energy products. The final piece of the puzzle, is as they say, “part and parcel of a river-crossing permit the pipeline has already received. It is a simple ministerial action authorizing the pipeline to cross beneath federal lands and, for want of a simple signature by an Army Corps bureaucrat, would finalize the process. By arbitrarily refusing to follow the law, the Justice Department has placed a lawfully permitted, vital $4 billion infrastructure project into suspended animation.”

The authors also note that the tribe who has sought to stall the project “largely refused to engage in [the] consultations” after much inquiry – a fact echoed by a federal court judge who reviewed the Army Corps findings and determinations. Johnston and Owen write that “there is much to be discussed and much to be regretted about the past 150 years of U.S.-tribal relations. But a real estate document for a pipeline river crossing seems hardly the pretext to do so.”

The Administration and Federal Government’s decision to withhold the final piece of multi-billion dollar project, in Owen and Johnston’s own words, it sends “a chilling message to the private sector about the rule of law as it relates to infrastructure development.”

It is simply unacceptable that the Federal Government has continued to delay the completion of this project – after all, their approval was already granted in July of this year. The fact remains, a single 1,000 foot section of an 1100 mile project, is currently held up by opponents who have already stated their mission is far greater than the Dakota Access Pipeline – but simply to withhold the development of America’s energy future.

 

 

 


Senators’ Letter Rejects the Facts

A letter sent by Oregon Senators Wyden and Merkley, addressed to President Obama regarding the Dakota Access Pipeline, show just how out of touch these members appear to be with the realities of the permitting and planning process for energy infrastructure projects, and with the on the ground realities of the brutal and illegal actions of anti-pipeline protesters.

To summarize; the letter from Senators Wyden and Merkley argues that the planning process for the project had “three major shortcomings.” The first there was inadequate consultations with the SRST “on the impacts to their historic and cultural land;” second, the Corps utilized an inappropriate permitting process; and third, there was a failure to conduct environmental review. The letter also  notes that the concerns with the Nationwide Permit 12 process and argues that because of the pre-approval process in the NWP 12, that there was no public notice or comment period for the overall project or an EIS. The letter also states, in their opinion, that the environmental review was not thorough enough and that concerns from EPA, DOI, and ACHP were disregarded.  Finally, it notes the right of the protesters to “peacefully protest,” and does not include mention of the actions by the protesters but rather the “militarized police response.”

Today the word of the year was announced, false-truth.

We can think of nothing better to describe the gross inaccuracies described by this letter to the President. Once again we see a pattern of ignored realities.

Dakota Access, as well as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers conducted hundreds of outreach meetings and consultations with Native American tribes, many of which the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe simply refused to participate in. The State of North Dakota also held three separate public input hearings that were well publicized throughout the state that the tribe did not participate in.

Regardless of the Senators concerns with the Nationwide 12 permitting process, the entirely legal process was followed by the various federal agencies who have oversight of the permitting process. Following the issuance of an finding of no significant impact in an over 1,200 page environmental assessment studied over two years by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the project was permitted to move forward on federal lands. That decision was upheld by the U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Columbia as well as the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The Senators might have their own opinions, but these are not the basis of federal law. Political opinions, like those of the Senators of members of the Obama Administration, should remain just that, while federal laws should be followed according to the letter of the law; including the permits released under Nationwide 12.

Finally, once again we see Washington politicians rejecting the overwhelming evidence of violent acts towards members of the law enforcement community, who have pleaded for federal assistance. Instead, the Senators decided to side with protesters who have already committed the following illegal acts:  set firesslaughtered livestockfired at gun at law enforcement officersburned a bridge, terrorized journalists, and repeatedly trespassed on private property.


Statements from Members of Congress on Corps Indecision and Further Delay of DAPL

North Dakota Senator Hoeven issued a strong rebuke yesterday evening on the Corps decision to further delay the Dakota Access Pipeline and acknowledged the careful examination of the project by the agency and need to approve the project immediately. In addition, House Natural Resources Chairman Rob Bishop indicated the facts surrounding the project have not changed and that it is time to approve the project.

Hoeven: Corps Should Issue The Dapl Easement And Resolve The Pipeline Situation In N.D.
U.S. John Hoeven, November 14, 2016

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven today issued the following statement in response to the Army Corps of Engineers’ announcement that it will further delay issuing a final easement that would allow construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline to be completed:

“The Corps today announced it will further delay issuing an easement for the Dakota Access Pipeline. That will only prolong the disruption in the region caused by protests and make life difficult for everyone who lives and works in the area.

“U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ruled in September that the Corps has done its due diligence, and he allowed the project to proceed. Furthermore, the pipeline is sited in an existing right-of-way that already includes a natural gas pipeline and a high-voltage transmission line. The route has been altered 141 times to address sites of archaeological significance.

“The solution now is for the Corps to grant an easement for the project so that life can return to normal for our farmers, ranchers, tribal members and law enforcement officers, who have worked very hard to protect the lives and property of all. Further, I will continue to call on the Obama administration to provide federal resources and funding to help ensure public safety.”

The senator has been working to support state and local law enforcement efforts, which include bringing in additional law enforcement resources through EMAC, the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, so that people living in the region feel safe and private property rights are protected. Hoeven and the congressional delegation have also been working to bring federal resources to assist local law enforcement in their efforts to keep the peace and deal with the protests.

Bishop: Dakota Access Delays Jeopardize Future Infrastructure Investment and Development
House Natural Resources Committee, November 15, 2016

WASHINGTON, D.C., November 15, 2016 – Yesterday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) announced they will begin another round of discussions and analysis on the Dakota Access pipeline (DAPL) project with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, Energy Transfer Partners and Dakota Access, LLC. Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) issued the following statement:

“From the beginning of this controversy, the Obama administration exploited Native Americans to advance an obstructionist and radical environmental agenda.

“The facts haven’t changed. The route was approved the first time around after an exhaustive permitting process under the established regulatory framework, including the Mineral Leasing Act. The president’s increasingly autocratic interventions create massive uncertainty that jeopardizes future infrastructure investment and development. This is a mockery of our constitutional system and beyond the pale for any administration. Americans are counting down the days until we can return a semblance of certainty and professionalism to the federal government’s permitting process.”