MAIN Responds to Sen. Sanders’ Call to Halt Dakota Access Construction

Earlier today U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and four other Democratic senators asked President Obama to halt construction on the Dakota Access Pipeline and order that a full environmental review be completed. In a statement, MAIN Coalition spokesperson Craig Stevens challenged the request, noting that the project has already been fully vetted and approved by both the federal government and four state regulatory agencies.

There is no legitimate reason, whatsoever, for the federal government to request another environmental study for the Dakota Access Pipeline – to do so is nothing more than a ploy to kill the project by unnecessary and undetermined delay.

The Dakota Access Pipeline has been fully vetted and approved by four states and the federal government pursuant to dozens of state and federal regulations including environmental regulations. Two federal courts have ruled that the Army Corps of Engineers met its obligations under the law – and in many cases went beyond the letter of the law to meet the spirit and intent of the legislation. Additionally, the Corps and Dakota Access, LLC, met with thousands of concerned citizens and groups over the past two years to ensure the pipeline traversed the safest, most sensible route.

The nation is watching this administrative decision: Will the administration respect the rule of law, the regulatory process, and the engineers who did their jobs or will the administration make a decision based on a political preference?  If the decision ignores the regulatory process it will have a chilling effect on future private infrastructure development and threaten American jobs.

The MAIN Coalition remains hopeful that administrative actions and judicial decisions will be based on the facts, science, engineering, and the rule of law that leads to the completion and operation of the Dakota Access Pipeline without further delay.

Dakota Access Parent Company Tops List of ‘Investment Heroes’

A new report released by the Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) shows that Energy Transfer Equity—the Dallas-based parent company of Dakota Access—invested more than $9.3 billion in the United States last year.

Started in 2012, PPI’s “Investment Heroes” report provides an annual ranking of American companies that are making substantial capital investments and improving the national economy in the process. In its latest ranking, PPI outlined 25 firms that collectively spent nearly $177 billion on long-term domestic investments in buildings, equipment, and software.

“To understand which companies are betting on America’s future today, we rank the top 25 companies by their estimated domestic investment in their most recent fiscal year.”

Ranked fourth on the list, ETE stands out as leader in private energy infrastructure development by providing the means to safely move oil and gas resources utilizing private capital for investments rather than placing the burden on American taxpayers.

“This year, as in the previous four years, AT&T is the leading company on our list, having invested an estimated $18.7 billion in the United States in 2015. Next on the list is Verizon, with an estimated $16.5 billion in domestic capital spending, followed by Exxon Mobil, Energy Transfer Partners, Chevron, Walmart, and Google’s parent company, Alphabet.”

For too long America has failed to make essential investments in national infrastructure which will hinder economic progress in the 21st century. The companies outlined as 2016 Investment Heroes are betting on America’s future and making the necessary investments right now—like the Dakota Access Pipeline—that will provide the foundation for new growth in our national economy for decades to come.

Labor Unions Pleased With Resumed Dakota Access Construction

Following a decision by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, construction is again moving forward on the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota.

Despite ongoing protest activity, workers from craft trade unions are continuing their work to ensure that the pipeline is constructed on schedule, and using proper safety protocols. Kevin Pranis, marketing manager for the North Dakota Chapter of the Laborer’s International Union of North Dakota said about 400 of the union’s members who are employed on the 1,172-mile Dakota Access pipeline were back to working on the project on Monday.

“Our members are proud to be building the safest pipeline in North Dakota,” said Tim Mackey, business manager for the North Dakota chapter of Laborers International Union of North America, said. “They just want to know why the federal and state government haven’t done more to keep us safe from protesters who are destroying equipment, blocking roads, following our vehicles and putting us and themselves in harm’s way.”

Crews plan for construction to move forward even as the weather turns colder and protests continue.

“It kinda reaffirms with what we’ve known all along that this is a one hundred percent legal project that Dakota Access is pursuing and building, and we’re just excited to be a part of it,” said Cory Bryson, Laborers Local 563.

87% of the pipeline has already been constructed in North Dakota according to a September construction report.

PSC Commissioner: Permitting Process Validated By Court Ruling

North Dakota Public Service Commission chairwomen Julie Fedorchak weighed in on the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s legal challenge to the Dakota Access Pipeline during an interview with Bismarck NBC affiliate KFYR-TV.

Fedorchak, who oversaw the state’s 13 month review of the project, said she feels the U.S. Court of Appeals decision to deny an injunction further validates the permitting process.

On the protests, Fedorchak said that many of the concerns expressed by Standing Rock have been addressed and urged activists to pack up their camp on the banks of Lake Oahe.

“These protests have run their course, they made their point. A lot of the issues that they’re concerned about have been addressed and dealt with. And that, that these protesters should pull up their camp and move on and let law enforcement and the school children in that area and the businesses in that area and everyone in that area go back to life as normal,” said Fedorchak.

Fedorchak’s comments echo those of many others in recent weeks, including U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg who noted the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers extensive efforts to accommodate tribal concerns.

MAIN Coalition Statement Regarding Court Ruling, Tribal Consultations

Today, MAIN Coalition spokesman Craig Stevens released the following statement discussing the U.S. Court of Appeals decision to deny the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s injunction request as well as this evening’s tribal listening session in Phoenix, AZ:

There is no reasonable reason for the federal government to continue its delay of the necessary easement to allow for the ultimate completion and operation of the Dakota Access Pipeline. The Army Corps of Engineers and Dakota Access, LLC, have labored for more than two years, meeting with hundreds – if not thousands – of individuals and groups to plot out the safest, most sensible route for the pipeline.

The 1,172 mile pipeline has been approved by four states and the federal government and has received all necessary permits and easements, except for the mere formality of an easement for approximately 1,100 feet abutting and under Lake Oahe which would parallel an existing natural gas pipeline and which has already been approved by the Army Corps of Engineers.

It is nearly 60 percent built and supports more than 8,000 jobs, at a cost of more than $1.6 billion so far.  And, once operational, it will be among the most technologically advanced pipelines in the world.

Now, two courts have agreed that the Army Corps followed the letter of the law: first Judge Boasberg in his initial decision and then the Appellate Court in its order.  Additionally, considering the painstaking review and accommodations that were made on the final pipeline route, we would argue that the Corps and company followed the spirit of the law and the intent of the lawmakers.

We recognize the importance of consulting with all interested parties and applaud the government for holding its meetings with tribal leaders to discuss appropriate processes for future projects.  However, the government cannot reasonably say that any disagreement equates to a veto.  If that becomes the standard then no infrastructure project of consequence will ever again be completed in this country.

Our nation is a nation of laws which includes regulations that were written to facilitate life in a civilized society.  Regulations are intentionally apolitical to allow businesses and individuals to live with certain rules and expectations outside the bounds of political discourse.  If we can no longer rely on the certitude of duly passed and implemented laws and regulations, it could ultimately lead to chaos; or, at the very least, an understandable confusion among American business leaders and citizens as to which laws and regulations are meaningful and which can be ignored.

The last administrative action on the final 1,100 feet of the Dakota Access Pipeline now rests with the Obama Administration.  We hope and expect that they do the right thing: issue the easement for construction under Lake Oahe without further delay.  To do otherwise would undermine our nation’s regulatory regime and chill American infrastructure development, costing Americans their jobs and, ultimately, our nation its progress.

Podcast: Richard Epstein Probes Legal Arguments in Dakota Access Pipeline Debate

Professor Richard Epstein discusses the legal and policy arguments surrounding the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s challenge to the Dakota Access Pipeline in a newly released podcast.

Epstein, a senior fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution and NYU law professor, has closely followed the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s legal challenge to the Dakota Access Pipeline.

  • Forbes Magazine, 10/3/16, “Finish Construction On Dakota Access Now,” by Richard Epstein
  • Forbes Magazine, 9/14/16, “Why The DOJ Order To Shut Down Construction On The DAPL Pipeline Is Legally Indefensible,” by Richard Epstein

Over the past few months he has offered a number of popular reviews on the court proceedings, including the two above columns that appeared in Forbes Magazine.

Pipeline Worker, Tribal Lawyer Reacts to Appeals Court Decision

A federal appeals court yesterday removed a temporary injunction that halted work on the Dakota Access Pipeline. Construction can now resume in an area between Highway 6 and 1806. Supporters say it’s a step in the right direction while opponents say they’re not backing down from the fight. Ben Smith has the story. Cory Bryson says nearly 400 members of his labor union are working on the Dakota Access Pipeline.
He says they’re excited, and not too surprised at the decision. “It kinda reaffirms with what we’ve known all along that this is a one hundred percent legal project that Dakota Access is pursuing and building, and we’re just excited to be a part of it,” says Bryson, Laborers Local 563

MAIN Coalition Statement on Court Decision

The U.S. Court of Appeals has ruled to dissolve its administrative injunction and allow Dakota Access to  move forward with construction up to Lake Oahe. In a statement, MAIN Coalition spokesman Craig Stevens welcomed the announcement:

We are pleased, but not surprised, by the Court’s decision as this demonstrates that the Army Corps of Engineers did, indeed, meet the requirements required by the law.  As laid out in Judge Boasberg’s opinion, the corps consulted 389 times with 55 tribes including the Standing Rock Sioux. Not only was the letter of the law met, but considering the lengths the corps and Dakota Access, LLC, went, so too was the spirit.

We continue to believe that as long as the ultimate administrative and judicial decisions are based on the facts, science, engineering, and the rule of law the Dakota Access Pipeline will become operational without additional delay.

Stevens: Politics Trumping Facts on Dakota Access

MAIN Coalition spokesman Craig Stevens put facts over fiction in a new opinion piece discussing the political debate surrounding the Dakota Access Pipeline. Writing in the Washington Examiner, Stevens discusses how protesters from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe have tried and failed stop the landmark infrastructure project under the pretense of false, overwhelming debunked claims.

“In the case of construction on the Dakota Access Pipeline, the opposition believes they are indeed entitled to their own facts despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. As they lost on those facts and the law, opponents turned to political allies to stop a project that was duly approved and is nearing completion,” Stevens wrote.

He goes on to note that activists have now resorted to backdoor political meandering to achieve a goal that both the facts and the law have proven wrong.

“Unable to persuade regulators or the courts to stop the pipeline, opponents have turned to friends in high places. This is exactly the sort of insider political trading that so many Americans of all political persuasions are sick of seeing. Americans are losing faith in our political institutions precisely because they think the powerful and well-connected use their influence to bypass procedures the rest of us have to follow.”

Stevens concludes with the sobering reality, that if not stopped, reckless political posturing will have far-reaching consequences.

“A political intervention now will do more than squander $2.5 billion, lay off thousands of workers and block access to an important supply of domestic energy. It will further undermine faith in the American political process at a time when that faith is at historic lows. Surely it would be best to stop the politics and let the proper legal and regulatory processes work.”

Click here to read Stevens’ full opinion piece.