New report reveals Dakota Access Pipeline is illegal
A new report written by NDN Collection, an Indigenous non-profit group, slammed the several government agencies for misleading the public on the impacts of the Dakota Access Pipeline project. The report directly implicates Dakota Access Pipeline’s parent company Energy Transfer and the federal government for failing to cooperate with impacted Indigenous Nations.
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Among the failures outlined by the report is the use of poor technology and substandard science in carrying out the impact assessment of the project. The report further criticizes the Army Corp of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency. The agencies are said to have failed to conduct a realistic and comprehensive environmental impact assessment of the project.
Related: Victory at Standing Rock as Dakota Access pipeline shut down
Additionally, the report factored in new information about oil quality, the impact of oil spills, leakage and faulty infrastructure. According to NDN Collective, the report could be quite helpful in the fight to stop the pipeline.
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The report comes at an opportune time when the Army Corps of Engineers is mandated by the court to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on a section of the pipeline. The EIS will cover the possible impacts of the pipe passing under Lake Oahe.
“This report shows how the Army Corps of Engineers violated their own processes and continues to violate our human rights for the benefit of a destructive, violent and extractive energy company,” said Nick Tilsen, Oglala Lakota and CEO of NDN Collective. “We cannot sit on the sidelines with this information. It’s time for accountability and it’s time to shut down the Dakota Access Pipeline, once and for all.”
Since 2016, the pipeline has been the subject of international attention with several Indigenous people and environmentalists trying to stop it. Although construction was completed in 2017, Indigenous tribes have been fighting to have the pipeline declared illegal.
“If the tribes were equipped with this information back in 2015, we could have won the fight. The fight for DAPL would have been very different,” said Jade Begay, Diné and Tesuque Pueblo of New Mexico, Climate Justice Campaign Director at NDN Collective.
Via Grist