Dakota Access Pipeline decision still missing in action a week later

Friday, September 7, 2018  

It's been a week since the Trump administration approved the Dakota Access Pipeline again. But where's the actual decision?

As of early Friday afternoon, the document -- said to be 100 pages long -- is nowhere to be found. No one in Indian Country has seen it, including the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, whose leaders and citizens began the fight against the pipeline more than two years ago, turning the #NoDAPL movement into an international cause.

So what's the holdup? Inside Climate News reached out to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of Justice for comment but no one responded as of Thursday.

Officially, the decision is "undergoing a confidentiality review," government attorneys said in an August 31 court filing. They gave no indication of when that process might be complete.

As an author of the preliminary technical report on impacts of a spill, I can state unequivocally the Army Corps ignored findings of a technical team that collectively has over 200 years experience directly in oil/gas and pipeline permitting & safety .https://t.co/HCQJND6Kxh

— WindHorse (@WndHrseStrategy) September 5, 2018

So for now, all that's out there is a two-page "memorandum for record" that was submitted by the Army Corps. It rejects all of the concerns Standing Rock and other tribes raised about oil spills, treaty rights and environmental justice.

That means oil will continue to flow through the 1,100-mile pipeline, which crosses treaty territory about a half-mile north of Standing Rock in North Dakota. Despite the rushed process that led to the completion of the project, a federal judge has repeatedly declined to halt operations.

"Once the pipeline is constructed and the oil is flowing, it's very difficult for courts to have the stomach to overturn decisions that resulted in that outcome," Sarah Krakoff, a professor of Native American law at the University of Colorado Law School, told Inside Climate News.

Tribe Says Army Corps Stonewalling on Dakota Access Pipeline Report, Oil Spill Risk (Inside Climate News September 6, 2018)

Hard work 'in the trash': Standing Rock Sioux Tribe slams Trump on Dakota Access (September 4, 2018)
A return to frontier justice? Red Fawn Fallis locked up for #NoDAPL incident (August 20, 2018)
Trump administration delays Dakota Access Pipeline decision again (August 8, 2018)
Tribes await updated decision on Dakota Access Pipeline (August 6, 2018)
A 'political prisoner': Red Fawn Fallis takes the fall for #NoDAPL incident (July 31, 2018)
Red Fawn Fallis won't appeal sentence for #NoDAPL incident (July 24, 2018)
'I knew I wasn't guilty': #NoDAPL activist acquitted in North Dakota (July 16, 2018)
Red Fawn Fallis sentenced to nearly five years for #NoDAPL incident (July 13, 2018)
Dakota Access sued for failing to sell ranch at Standing Rock (July 11, 2018)
Dakota Access Pipeline study still not finished after more than a year (June 12, 2018)
Security firm hired by Dakota Access still won't admit wrongdoing (May 16, 2018)
Elizabeth Cook-Lynn: An Indian man walks into court and asks a judge to do the right thing (April 20, 2018)
Graham Lee Brewer: What we learned about #NoDAPL and accountability (April 16, 2018)
Albert Bender: Oil continues to flow through 'genocidal' Dakota Access Pipeline (April 9, 2018)
YES! Magazine: An 'awakening' emerges from Standing Rock (March 28, 2018)
Trump administration blames tribes for delay in new Dakota Access study (March 21, 2018)
Jenni Monet: What the movement at Standing Rock gave the world (March 16, 2018)
Standing Rock Sioux Tribe warns of 'same mistakes' with DAPL study (March 7, 2018)
Oscars see a bit of diversity on stage with Native presenter and performance (March 5, 2018)
Republican investigation links Russian trolls to #NoDAPL movement (March 1, 2018)
Sylvia Chi: Indigenous activists lead energy divestment movement (February 19, 2018)
Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe demands consultation on DAPL study (February 9, 2018)
Red Fawn Fallis stays jailed for #NoDAPL gun shooting incident (February 6, 2018)
Woman injured in #NoDAPL clash sues government for evidence (February 6, 2018)
Red Fawn Fallis enters guilty plea for #NoDAPL gun shooting incident (January 23, 2018)
Native Sun News Today: 'Water Protectors' film heralds unsung Lakota heroes (January 15, 2018)
Native Sun News Today: Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe raises funds for water (January 10, 2018)
Albert Bender: The original genocide continues with the Dakota Access Pipeline (November 16, 2017)