Nov 14, 20232 min read

Stop the Dakota Access Pipeline River Crossing! — Poster of the Week

Solidarity With Standing Rock

Melanie Cervantes, Jesus Barraza

Digital Print, 2016

Oakland, CA

47930

The Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL), a 1,172 mile-long pipeline carrying oil across four states, has long been opposed by the Standing Rock Sioux tribe and environmentalists. The pipeline crosses four states from North Dakota to Illinois, as well as Lake Oahe and the Mississippi River, and is a threat to the region’s clean water and to ancient burial grounds and is the Tribe’s primary source of drinking water. Tribal leaders insisted that the DAPL violated Article II of the Fort Laramie Treaty which guarantees the undisturbed use and occupation of reservation lands.

The controversial pipeline received worldwide attention in early 2016, when thousands of water protectors camped out near the construction site. They were met with armed soldiers and police who used attack dogs and firehoses. In 2017, then-president Trump authorized its completion and ended the environmental impact assessment and the associated public comment period. Despite the public outcry and countless lawsuits against Energy Transfer Partners, the Texas-based company behind the project, the first oil was delivered on May 14, 2017. The pipeline transports over 570,000 barrels of oil a day. The ongoing presence of the pipeline is not only in violation of tribal rights, it has the potential to contaminate the water supply for millions of people.

Now for the potentially good news. In early September 2023, federal officials released a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) revoking a permit necessary for the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) to cross the Missouri River and detailing five options for the pipeline, some of which includes rerouting the pipeline. The Army Corps of Engineers are finally taking public comments on the operation of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) now through December 13, 2023. This period of public commentary has the potential to decide the future of the pipelines' contentious river crossing.

Comments on the DAPL EIS, can be emailed to

NWO-DAPL-EIS@usace.army.mil

Or snail-mailed to:

Attn: Brent Cossette

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

CENWO-ODT-N

1616 Capitol Avenue

Omaha, NE 68102

To find out if there are additional public meetings, contact:

Contact

CENWO-PA

402-995-2417