Dakota Access Pipeline: Urgent Deadline to Stand Up for Environmental Justice
John Henry Frankel, Communications Specialist
Make Your Voice Heard!
The Dakota Access Pipeline and the conflict over its controversial crossing of the Mississippi River is much further from the spotlight in 2023 as it was in 2016. Despite the lack of media attention, this issue is far from resolved – and a crucial deadline in the resolution process is rapidly approaching.
On November 13, the environmental review public comment period will come to an end. Please consider writing to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers calling for further environmental safeguards or a complete stoppage of the Dakota Access Pipeline before that deadline.
To write-in click here!
Back in 2021, we reaffirmed our commitment to the cause by granting support to six cases, including Thunderhawk v. County of Morton. This case seeks damages for the harms caused by closing the main road between the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation and Bismarck during the DAPL protests, which disproportionately affected members of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, including ones not affiliated with the protestors. This case is still ongoing.
A Brief History of the Project
The Dakota Access Pipeline conflict is a complex and contentious issue that revolves around the construction and operation of a 1,172-mile-long oil pipeline in the United States. The project aimed to transport crude oil from North Dakota's Bakken oil fields to Illinois, crossing four states and the Missouri River along the way. In 2016, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, alongside environmental activists and supporters, protested the pipeline's proposed route. They argued that the pipeline posed significant environmental risks and threatened sacred tribal lands, including burial grounds.
The conflict gained widespread attention as activists camped near the construction site in North Dakota, organizing peaceful protests as "Water Protectors." Their rallying cry "Water is Life" highlighted concerns about potential oil spills in the event of a pipeline rupture, which could contaminate the Missouri River, the primary water source for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.
The conflict escalated with clashes between protesters and law enforcement, resulting in numerous arrests and allegations of excessive force. The Obama administration temporarily halted the pipeline's construction, seeking further environmental assessments and tribal consultation. Shortly after taking office, President Donald Trump signed executive orders to expedite pipeline approvals, leading to the pipeline's completion in 2017.
Despite the completion and of the Dakota Access Pipeline, the legal battle continued, with ongoing lawsuits challenging the pipeline's permits and demanding its closure. In 2020, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ordered the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to conduct an environmental review on the Dakota Access Pipeline Project in what Standing Rock Chief Mike Faith called a “significant legal win.”
Today
Last Friday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released a draft review of the project. The draft contains five potential options that vary dramatically in their effect on the DAPL, from denying the easement for the Mississippi crossing, to granting the same easement with no changes, to a 111-mile reroute of the pipeline. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is seeking opinions from the public and other government agencies and has yet to decide on one of these five potential options.
Standing Rock Tribal Chairwoman Janet Alkire opposes the draft review and called for the public to write in supporting a new review with the pipeline shut down, citing concerns about the pipeline's impact on the Missouri River, the poor safety track record of the oil company, and inadequate emergency response plans.
To preserve the Mississippi river and the autonomy of the Standing Rock Sioux and allied tribes, now is the time to make your voice heard and contact the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Impact Fund Involvement
Morton County Sheriff’s Office closed the main road between the Standing Rock Reservation and the city of Bismarck, which was done to obstruct pipeline protestors’ access to the DAPL construction site.
In 2021, we granted $15,000 to fund the class action lawsuit Thunderhawk v. County of Morton, filed by Initiative for a Just Society, Center for Contemporary Critical Thought, at Columbia Law School on behalf of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe members. This lawsuit sought to redress the harm caused when the Morton County Sheriff’s Office closed the main road between the Standing Rock Reservation and the city of Bismarck, which was done to obstruct pipeline protestors’ access to the DAPL construction site.
While white residents of the area, pipeline construction workers, and private security employed by the pipeline company were allowed access to the closed portions of the highway, members of the Standing Rock tribe were forced to take much longer routes for basic amenities such as food and medicine. By closing the highway, local law enforcement repressed the speech, assembly, and prayer of both pipeline protestors and the Standing Rock tribe members.
Thunderhawk v. County of Morton is in active litigation. The defendant moved to dismiss the case for a number of reasons, including a qualified immunity defense. The district court denied the motion.
After the District of North Dakota denied the defendant's motion to dismiss the suit based on qualified immunity, the defendant appealed this decision. The Eighth Circuit vacated the district court’s decision with respect to the portion denying defendants’ motion to dismiss based on qualified immunity. The Eighth Circuit has remanded the case to the district court to reevaluate the qualified immunity defense.
The case is currently being reevaluated by the District Court of North Dakota.