U.S. Chamber of Commerce Takes Note of Anti-Pipeline Violence by Anti-Development Advocates

Hackbarth

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the nation’s largest organization representing businesses both large and small, took a look at the Dakota Access Pipeline in their blog this morning, noting its contribution to improving the nation’s energy infrastructure:

A valuable addition to U.S. energy infrastructure, the pipeline will cross four states connecting the oil-rich Bakken region in North Dakota with other pipelines in Illinois, allowing oil to reach refineries and making America less dependent on foreign imports.

The blog post went on to note the violence which occurred at the site of the out-of-state anti-development protesters near the Standing Rock reservation in the past few weeks:

In North Dakota, hundreds of protesters—many not from the area–have built a camp near a construction site where the pipeline will travel under the Missouri River near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. The Army Corps of Engineers approved the pipeline’s water crossing there in July.

The protests have turned ugly. Local public radio reports that construction has been halted because law enforcement worried that some protesters had pipe bombs and guns. Dozens have been arrested for trespassing and disorderly conduct. The FBI is investigating an incident where someone pointed a laser pointer on a North Dakota state government plane that was watching the protesters.

The protests got so bad that on Friday North Dakota’s Governor Jack Dalrymple (R) issued an emergency declaration in the construction area to make “available other state resources for the purpose of protecting the health, safety and well-being of the general public and those involved in the protest.”

Finally, the post noted that statistics have shown pipeline to be safe and that safety records have been trending in a positive direction for well over a decade, in spite of a large increase in oil transported. The article included a map, which highlighted the fact that the Dakota Access is certainly not even close to being something out of the ordinary, and that thousands of miles of pipeline operate safely beneath the ground every day:

Pipeline Map

Read the full post here.