Members of the Oceti Sakowin spirit camp, which has supported pipeline resistance on land under Corps of Engineers jurisdiction, are folding their tents to move onto higher ground in the wake of analysis showing that thaws of heavier-than-usual winter snows would most likely flood the site. Photo courtesy RedhawkOil company cited for 200 leaks since 2010
EPA nominee Perry served on pipeline company’s board
By Talli Nauman
Native Sun News Today
Health & Environment Editor
nativesunnews.today WASHINGTON, D.C. –– In the tribal lawsuit to halt construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline, the U.S. Justice Department on Jan. 6 filed for dismissal of Energy Transfer Partners’ argument that the Army Corps of Engineers gave permission to build across the Missouri River. The oil pipeline company had made the argument in a cross-claim in the case on Dec. 5, which called for summary judgement that would allow it to proceed with the plan to put the line under the Oahe Reservoir a half-mile upstream from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s main drinking water intake. “Dakota Access’s inability to establish that the decision-making process was completed – including a statutorily-mandated submission of a formal notice to Congress of the Army’s intent to grant an easement – is fatal to its cross-claim,” federal government lawyers said in the most recent development in the lawsuit. The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe are litigating the suit against the Army Corps of Engineers in the U.S. District Court of the federal District of Columbia to require more consultation over historic preservation and water protection before a decision is granted on an easement. Some 200 tribal governments and hundreds of agencies, local governments and non-governmental organizations that warn of oil spills have demanded the Army carry out an environmental impact statement (EIS) in order to make the decision.
Read the rest of the story on the Native Sun News Today website: Oil company cited for 200 leaks since 2010 (Contact Talli Nauman at talli.nauman@gmail.com) Copyright permission Native Sun News
Join the Conversation
