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.

Hoeven: Obama Administration Trying to Delay DAPL Again by Changing the Rules

WASHINGTON — Senator John Hoeven today issued the following statement in response to the Obama administration and Assistant Secretary for Civil Works Jo-Ellen Darcy’s decision to require the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to do an environmental impact statement (EIS) prior to issuing an easement for the Dakota Access Pipeline project:

“The Obama administration is again trying to delay the Dakota Access Pipeline project by changing the rules. The company has complied with all federal and state requirements and should now be allowed to complete the project. Since the current administration will not issue the final easement, the Trump administration should approve it without delay.

 

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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?

Hoeven, Cramer, Dalrymple Call on Obama to Approve Pipeline Easement, Support Law Enforcement

In a letter sent on November 23rd  to President Obama, North Dakota Senator John Hoeven, Congressman Kevin Cramer, and Governor Jack Dalrymple called on the White House to allow the Army Corps of Engineers to issue the final easement needed to complete the 1,172-mile Dakota Access Pipeline project and provide federal resources to assist with ongoing protests.

“We call on you again to direct the Army Corps of Engineers (Army Corps) to approve, without further delay, the final federal easement for the Lake Oahe crossing of the Dakota Access Pipeline. Further, in the strongest terms possible, we recommend you provide federal law enforcement resources immediately to state and local agencies in order to maintain public safety, which has been threatened by ongoing – and oftentimes violent – protest activity. These resources are essential to prevent further destruction on and surrounding federal lands.”

North Dakota’s top elected officials went on to highlight that construction of the pipeline is now over 86 percent and has undergone extensive state and federal regulatory reviews over the past two and a half years. Furthermore, they note that two federal courts have ruled in favor of letting the project proceed.

“Twice challenged and twice upheld – including by your own appointees – federal courts found that the Army Corps had followed the appropriate process, the tribe was properly consulted and the project could lawfully proceed. As a former Constitutional law professor you certainly understand there is no legal reason to withhold this easement.”

The letter comes as protesters resort to increasingly dangerous and violent tactics to harm law enforcement officers, trespass on private property, and obstruct construction of the pipeline. President Obama’s decision to “let it play out” my be politically convenient in Washington, but in North Dakota, the administration’s refusal to follow and enforce the rule of law has left entire communities on edge.

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.”

Hoeven: Corps Should Issue the DAPL Easement and Resolve the Pipeline Situation in N.D.

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.

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Hoeven: Pipelines Provide Safe, Efficient Transportation of Energy Products

 

Speaking at a U.S. Senate Energy Committee hearing last week, Senator John Hoeven underscored the importance of upgrading and expanding our nation’s pipeline capacity. Hoeven, a longtime advocate all-of-the-above energy policy, also emphasized the need to remove burdensome regulatory hurdles that too often discourage private investment in pipeline infrastructure.

“Pipelines are a safe and efficient means of transporting oil and gas from where they are produced to where they are consumed,” Hoeven said. “Updating and expanding our pipeline infrastructure means safer communities, better environmental stewardship, more energy production and good paying jobs. Those jobs aren’t just in construction. By making energy more affordable, such infrastructure helps create jobs across industries, especially energy-intensive industries like manufacturing. That is why we need to support policies and pass legislation, like our North American Energy Infrastructure Act and others, to empower investment in this infrastructure.”

Hoeven, who previously served as Governor of North Dakota, relied in part on his own experiences to explain the critical role pipelines play. In North Dakota, he attributed the installation of gathering lines as the key driver behind the state’s drastic reduction in natural gas flaring. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, flaring fell from 36 percent in in 2014 to a mere 10 percent in March of this year.

Senator Hoeven has proven to be a reliable, pragmatic leader in the buildout of the nation’s pipeline infrastructure and will no doubt continue to lead as America settles into its newfound role as the world’s leading energy producer