Dakota Access Memo Cheers Pipeline Supporters

A pair of agency-directed memos signed Tuesday by President Donald Trump could force completion of the controversial Dakota Access pipeline in North Dakota as well as breathe new life into the Canadian-based Keystone XL pipeline.

Trump’s memo did not grant a drilling easement for the $3.8 billion Dakota Access project to cross U.S. Army Corps of Engineers land on the Missouri River/Lake Oahe but directs the agency to expedite review with the idea that prior reviews already satisfy federal law.

Congressman Kevin Cramer said he believes the memo will force the agency to rescind the decision it made last week to begin a full-blown environmental impact statement on the crossing and issue an easement in short order.

Cramer said he made contact Tuesday with federal law enforcement agencies, including the CIA and the U.S. Marshal service, in anticipation of pushback from hundreds of pipeline protesters camped near the water crossing just north of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation when construction resumes.

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Democrats, Republicans United On Dakota Access

North Dakota Senators John Hoeven and Heidi Heitkamp are not letting the latest attempt to derail the completion of the Dakota Access Pipeline go unnoticed.

The Obama administration Wednesday threatened to further delay the critical infrastructure project by ordering the Department of the Army to publish a Notice of Intent to require an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in the Federal Register. A move that sidesteps the professionals at the Army Corps of Engineers who have already concluded that the project will result in no significant impacts. In fact, the career civil servants at the Army Corps actually recommended that the easement be approved, but were silenced in the face of politics.

Hoeven, a republican, criticized the move, saying it amounted to changing the rules in the middle of a pre-established process. “The company has complied with all federal and state requirements, and should now be allowed to complete the project,” he said in a statement. “Since the current administration will not issue the final easement, the Trump administration should approve it without delay.”

He added that adjustments to the permitting process could be considered going forward, but should not be applied retroactively to a project that has already received approval. “Pipelines like the Dakota Access Pipeline can be built safely and protect both the tribe and everyone living downstream,” he said. “A new EIS will impose months, and perhaps years, of additional difficulty on the people who live and work in the pipeline area.”

Across the aisle, Democratic Sen. Heidi Heitkamp echoed Hoeven, saying that the administration’s “legally unprecedented” effort would only promote continued division and delay. “Removing decision-making from the U.S. Army Corps District Office and looking at an issue not properly before the Corps does not provide the certainty, or the security North Dakotans need or that the protesters are seeking,” she said.

“Whether you agree with this position or not, President-elect Trump has not minced words about his support for the project, or his intent to take quick action on the issue, and the outgoing Administration knows that this move only stand to further deepen the divides in our state.”

It should not go unnoticed that, even in a state of political polarization, democrats and republicans agree that construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline should be completed without further delay.

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?