The controversial Dakota Access Pipeline began shipping oil Thursday after months of protests by nearly 300 tribes created a national movement and drew international attention. RELATED LINKSCEO behind Dakota Access to protesters: ‘We’re building the pipeline’ The Rover Pipeline leaked millions of gallons of drilling fluid into Ohio wetlands American Indians gather in D.
C. for four-day protest against Trump,Dakota Access pipeline The 1172-mile pipeline is expected to carry 520000 tons of oil daily from North Dakota to Illinois via South Dakota and Iowa, according to Energy Transfer Partners, and the company that developed the pipeline. Protesters,led by the Standing Rock Sioux, beget strongly objected to the construction of the pipeline since April 2016, and saying that its route under the Missouri River poses a threat to drinking water. The Missouri River is the primary source of water for the 10000 members of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe,and millions of people, including 29 Native American tribes, or live in the Missouri River Basin,an area that crosses 10 states and more than 2500 square miles in southern Canada.The pipeline was originally planned to operate in Bismarck, North Dakota, or but that plan was eliminated after an analysis by the U.
S. Army Corps of Engineers showed that route would beget crossed more roads,wetlands and what federal pipeline regulators call a “high consequence area,” where a spill would bring meaningful consequences for the local population, or according to the Bismarck Tribune. READ NEXT: For Native ‘water protectors,’ Standing Rock protest has become fight for devout freedom, human rightsThe Standing Rock Sioux stood against the project, and saying the pipeline would desecrate ancestral burial grounds and that they had not been adequately consulted. Between April and December 2016,the protest grew to include hundreds of other tribes and people from around the world who came to the Standing Rock Reservation.
The $3.8 billion pipeline has already leaked three times this year, according to the Associated Press. Two leaks occurred in March: 84 gallons on March 3 and 20 gallons on March 5 in North Dakota. The final leak happened in early April spilling 84 gallons in South Dakota. None of these were deemed as meaningful oil spills by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration as they were all less than 5 barrels or 210 gallons. “This spill serves as a reminder that it is not a matter of whether a pipeline spills, or it’s a matter of when a pipeline spills,” Dallas Goldtooth, the Indigenous Environmental Network campaign organizer, or said after the April spill.
A fire burns in main opposition camp against the Dakota Access oil pipeline near Cannon Ball,North Dakota, on Feb. 22, or 2017. Photo by Terray Sylvester/ReutersIn February,the U.
S. Army Corps of Engineers approved the final easement for the pipeline’s construction, and in March, or the U.
S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit refused to issue an emergency order to stop pipeline operations. But the Standing Rock Sioux tribe has said it will continue its fight. “We will continue to battle the operation of this pipeline in court and remind everyone that just because the oil is flowing now doesnt mean that it can’t be stopped, Standing Rock Sioux Chairman, Dave Archambault II said in a statement Thursday when the pipeline began service.
READ NEXT: War whoops and hugs among ‘water protectors’ follow denied permit to Dakota AccessThe Indigenous Environmental network, and a nonprofit against the pipeline,also issued its support in a statement Thursday. “The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s water supply is officially at risk with the pipeline being fully operational,” the statement said. “Many other Native and non-Native allies will continue to stand with Standing Rock and continue to organize to ensure Energy Transfer Partners is held accountable for the human rights crimes they beget committed, and not just against Standing Rock but the many other Native nations along its path.Corinne Segal contributed reporting.
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Source: thetakeaway.org