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Oceti Sakowin, ND – On Sunday afternoon, Chairman Dave Archambault II of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe announced that he had been informed the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had denied the easement permit necessary for the Dakota Access Pipeline to go under the Missouri River.
An atmosphere of celebration quickly erupted at the Oceti Sakowin camp when the news was announced:
The decision was confirmed shortly later in a statement issued on the Army’s website:
“The Department of the Army will not approve an easement that would allow the proposed Dakota Access Pipeline to cross under Lake Oahe in North Dakota, the Army’s Assistant Secretary for Civil Works announced today.Jo-Ellen Darcy said she based her decision on a need to explore alternate routes for the Dakota Access Pipeline crossing. Her office had announced on November 14, 2016 that it was delaying the decision on the easement to allow for discussions with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, whose reservation lies 0.5 miles south of the proposed crossing. Tribal officials have expressed repeated concerns over the risk that a pipeline rupture or spill could pose to its water supply and treaty rights.“Although we have had continuing discussion and exchanges of new information with the Standing Rock Sioux and Dakota Access, it’s clear that there’s more work to do,” Darcy said. “The best way to complete that work responsibly and expeditiously is to explore alternate routes for the pipeline crossing.” Darcy said that the consideration of alternative routes would be best accomplished through an Environmental Impact Statement with full public input and analysis.” – US Army Statement
North Dakota congressman Kevin Cramer issued a statement denouncing the Army Corps’s decision, saying it set a “chilling signal for infrastructure development. Governor Jack Dalrymple was reported to have called denying the easement “a serious mistake” .
More updates coming soon.
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