Tribal members gathered wild rice at Hole In the Day Lake in Minnesota as an exercise of their treaty rights. Photo from Facebook / Honor the Earth
Mike Myers (Seneca Nation) of the Network for Native Futures focuses on a new fight -- the $2.6 billion Sandpiper crude oil pipeline that tribes in Minnesota are trying to prevent from crossing their treaty territories:
The Sandpiper pipeline would be a 610-mile, $2.6 billion pipeline across North Dakota and Minnesota to transport 1.4 million barrels of oil per day from the Bakken region of North Dakota (the fracking fields) to Superior, WI, so it could be loaded onto ships and rail for further transport. The pipeline is being proposed by Enbridge Energy, a Calgary, Alberta, Canada, company, who already operates other oil pipelines in Minnesota and was driving the Keystone development. Sandpiper hasn’t gotten near as much attention as Keystone because it is wholly within the U.S. That project doesn’t require federal permitting. Just state permitting. And this is where the battle has been, primarily in Minnesota. The focal point has been the Minnesota Public Utility Commission (PUC) that is responsible for issuing a Certificate of Need for the pipeline – which it did without requiring an Environmental Impact Statement. This forced the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy and Friends of the Headwaters to appeal this decision to the Minnesota Court of Appeals. On September 14, 2015, the Court of Appeals unanimously ruled that the lack of an EIS violated the Minnesota Environmental Protection Act and revoked the Certificate of Need. And now the plot thickens, on October 16, 2015, Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson filed an appeal with the Minnesota Supreme Court asking them to overturn the Appeals Court decision. This move puts Swanson fully on side with big oil and she has the luxury of using taxpayer dollars to fund her side of the fight.Get the Story:
Mike Myers: Keystone's Not Dead: Don't Relax! (Indian Country Today11/12)
Join the Conversation
Related Stories
Native Sun News: Opponents celebrate halt to
Keystone XL (11/12) Tribes and activists celebrate rejection of Keystone XL Pipeline (11/9)
Obama kills permit for controversial Keystone XL Pipeline (11/6)
Obama won't delay decision on Keystone XL Pipeline permit (11/4)
Obama prepared to reject controversial Keystone XL Pipeline (11/3)
Hillary Clinton breaks silence and opposes Keystone XL Pipeline (09/23)
Minnesota court deals setback to oil pipeline opposed by tribes (9/15)
Frank Bibeau: Ojibwe people assert treaty rights in Minnesota (9/2)
Young tribal members cited for wild rice harvest in Minnesota (9/1)
Tribal members in Minnesota assert treaty right to gather wild rice (8/28)
Winona LaDuke: Energy company hasn't been listening to tribes (6/8)
Mille Lacs Band holds public hearing on proposed energy pipeline (5/28)
Michigan tribes warn of disaster from pipeline spill in Great Lakes (5/28)
Native Sun News: Winona LaDuke addresses energy addiction (11/18)
Winona LaDuke: Energy project threatens Ojibwe ricing tradition (7/7)
Honor the Earth weighs next move in fight over pipeline route (5/22)
Honor the Earth challenges pipeline route through treaty lands (5/8)
