The Bakken pipeline would run a similar path to that of
the failed Keystone XL project. This path would take the pipeline through
sovereign Native lands, across the Ogallala aquifer and the Missouri and
Mississippi Rivers.
A federal court said on Wednesday it will rule next
month whether to temporarily halt construction of a controversial oil pipeline
that has prompted large protests in North Dakota.
After more than an hour-long hearing, Judge James E.
Boasberg said he’ll decide as early as Sept. 9 on the injunction request the
Standing Rock Sioux Tribe filed against the so-called Bakken pipeline, a
massive fracked oil line that would cut through four Midwestern states and
hundreds of waterways.
“We are pleased that we had our day in court today, and
we look forward to a ruling soon,” said Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Chairman
Dave Archaumbault II. “I believe that everyone who attended the hearing today
will understand that the tribe is seeking fundamental justice here.”
Native Americans say the pipeline threatens sacred
sites and drinking water resources, and that no meaningful consultation took
place. The Army Corps of Engineers disagrees. During the court hearing, the
agency said the tribe declined to be part of the process. The tribe in turn
said they didn’t want to legitimize a flawed process. The company building the
pipeline, Dakota Access, says the project is safe and will benefit the region
and boost energy independence. They have, however, agreed to stop construction in
that area of North Dakota until the court rules on the injunction.
The hearing in D.C. comes about a month after the
Standing Rock Sioux Tribe sued the Corps over the permits the Corps gave to the
developer, Dakota Access, to build on an area roughly half-mile north of the
reservation, and through the Missouri River — as
well as other federal waterways.
Many feel that America’s continued investment in
antiquated sources of fuel is not worth the money. With European and Asian
nations striving to become carbon neutral, with green energy sources, it is
tragic that America is caught up in nostalgic energy sources. Over the past 30
years in American History we have not had the best track record of producing
and distributing oil safely. Going back to the Exxon Valdez oil disaster in
1989, oil spills and oil related disasters have become a frequent narrative.
 |
Actresses Shailene Woodley, fourth from right, and Susan Sarandon, second from right, and Standing Rock Sioux Tribe member Bobbi Jean Three Lakes, right, participate in a rally outside the US District Court in Washington. CREDIT: AP/MANUEL BALCE |
Mr Fragoso continues with:
The Bakken pipeline is roughly 48 percent complete,
officials said during the court hearing, and the line is scheduled to start
delivering oil in January. Construction is ongoing almost everywhere else,
though a small group of Iowa landowners managed to get a construction reprieve
from state regulators Wednesday.
As the court hearing went on indoors in D.C., outside
scores of mostly Native Americans from as far away as Arizona gathered in a
packed rally that continued even after the hearing was over. Actresses Susan
Sarandon and Shailene Woodley were part of the protest. Woodley, who has been
protesting in North Dakota, is one of many celebrities that have over the past
few months called along Native Americans for a halt to construction and a
repeal of pipeline permits.
Comparable in size to the more-famous (but rejected)
Keystone XL, the Bakken pipeline is slated to be the largest oil line coming
out of North Dakota’s Bakken oil fields, among the nation’s most active due to
the fracking boom. The line would move up to 570,000 barrels of sweet crude oil
daily through the Dakotas, Iowa, and Illinois.
The nearly $3.8 billion pipeline is slated to cross
multiple watersheds in its more than 1,150 mile course. Aside from the alleged
threat to sacred sites, critics say the pipeline brings the threat of spill
damage to thousands of miles of fertile farmland, forests, and rivers. Federal agencies
have said the Bakken Pipeline avoids “critical habitat.”
Most of the affected land is farmland, but the project
does run through wildlife areas and major waterways like the Mississippi, and
the Missouri, the longest river in North America.
Do you feel that with America’s track record of oil related
disasters , that we can trust private industry and government to manage a
pipeline that runs across several major rivers and watersheds? If these areas
were to become contaminated it could affect an area that stretches from North
Dakota to Texas. Leave your thoughts below.
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Source : countercurrentnews.com