A coalition of 22 groups representing business associations and workers including the National Association of Manufacturers and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce among others, authored a letter to the Obama Administration that expresses deep concerns over the actions taking place to slow construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline. The letter received coverage in the Washington DC-based political publications The Hill, Politico, Washington Examiner and E&E.
The letter states details the extensive process and permits received by Dakota Access, and criticizes the Administration for upending the regulatory process and ignoring a federal judge’s opinion. According to the letter, these actions by the Obama Administration will do harm far beyond delaying the construction of the project;
“When your agencies upend or modify the results of a full and fair regulatory process for an infrastructure project, these actions do not merely impact a single company. The industries that manufacture and develop the infrastructure, the labor that builds it, and the American consumers that depend on it all suffer.”
The groups urge the Administration to follow the letter of the law, which was met by the company throughout the review and permitting process, and allow construction to continue so that the infrastructure needs of a 21st century economy can move forward.