Standing Rock protesters celebrate 'big victory' as pipeline

[Oscar]

Standing Rock protesters celebrate 'big victory' as pipeline construction halted

[ http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/dakota-acc ... 81042?cid= ]

Feds block Dakota Access Pipeline's route, say alternatives must be explored

CBC News Posted: Dec 04, 2016 4:36 PM ET| Last Updated: Dec 04, 2016 6:02 PM ET

Standing Rock protesters celebrated Sunday as news broke that construction of the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline near their territory has been halted.

Moria Kelley, a spokeswoman for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, a federal agency, said in a news release Sunday that the administration will not allow the four-state, $3.8-billion pipeline to be built under Lake Oahe, a Missouri River reservoir near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation.

Assistant Secretary for Civil Works Jo-Ellen Darcy said her decision was based on the need to "explore alternate routes" for the pipeline's crossing.

"Although we have had continuing discussion and exchanges of new information with the Standing Rock Sioux and Dakota Access, it's clear that there's more work to do," Darcy said. "The best way to complete that work responsibly and expeditiously is to explore alternate routes for the pipeline crossing."

The 1,885-kilometre pipeline — owned by Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners LP — is mostly complete, except for a segment planned to run under Lake Oahe just outside the reservation near Cannon Ball, N.D. The Dallas-based company did not immediately comment on the news.

"There's certainly an atmosphere of celebration at this show of power and influence of the climate Indigenous rights movement here in the United States."

Protest not over

For months, thousands of people have descended upon a handful of camps in the area to voice opposition to the pipeline, which they said threatened drinking water and would harm sacred sites.

'This is a big victory for water protectors that have been here for months and months and months.' - Clayton Thomas-Muller, Colomb Cree Nation

The largest is the Oceti Sakowin Camp north of Cannonball River, which is managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, a federal agency operated under the U.S. Department of Defense.

The protest has garnered support from thousands who have flocked to North Dakota to protest against the completion of the line.

"This is a big victory for water protectors that have been here for months and months and months," Thomas-Muller said.

The tribe issued a statement thanking protesters, supporters and U.S. President Barack Obama's administration.

"With this decision we look forward to being able to return home and spend the winter with our families and our loved ones, many of whom have sacrificed as well," the statement reads.

However, some of the protesters, who call themselves water protectors, say they are staying put.

Attorney General Loretta Lynch said the Department of Justice will "continue to monitor the situation" and stands "ready to provide resources to help all those who can play a constructive role in easing tensions."

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[Oscar]

Army Blocks Drilling of Dakota Access Oil Pipeline

[ http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/04/us/fe ... .html?_r=0 ]

By JACK HEALY and NICHOLAS FANDOSDEC. 4, 2016

The Daily 360 By BENJAMIN NORMAN, NIKO KOPPEL and KAITLYN MULLIN 00:00

CANNON BALL, N.D. — The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe won a major victory on Sunday in its battle to block an oil pipeline being built near its reservation when the Department of the Army announced that it would not allow the pipeline to be drilled under a dammed section of the Missouri River.

The Army said it would look for alternative routes for the $3.7 billion Dakota Access pipeline. Construction of the route a half-mile from the Standing Rock Sioux reservation has become a global flash point for environmental and indigenous activism, drawing thousands of people out here to a sprawling prairie camp of tents, tepees and yurts.

“The best way to complete that work responsibly and expeditiously is to explore alternate routes for the pipeline crossing,” Jo-Ellen Darcy, the Army’s assistant secretary for civil works, said in a statement. The move could presage a lengthy environmental review that has the potential to block the pipeline’s construction for months or years.

But it was unclear how durable the government’s decision would be. Sunday’s announcement came in the dwindling days of the Obama administration, which revealed in November that the Army Corps of Engineers was considering an alternative route. The Corps of Engineers is part of the Department of the Army.

President-elect Donald J. Trump, however, has taken a different view of the project and said as recently as last week that he supported finishing the 1,170-mile pipeline, which crosses four states and is almost complete.

Though the Army’s decision calls for an environmental study of alternative routes, the Trump administration could ultimately decide to allow the original, contested route. Representatives for Mr. Trump’s transition team did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Mr. Trump owns stock in the company building the pipeline, Energy Transfer Partners, but he has said that his support has nothing to do with his investment.

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[ http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/04/us/fe ... .html?_r=0 ]