Introduction
I rise to speak today and respond to comments from some of
my colleagues on the Dakota Access
Pipeline and the ongoing protests in North Dakota. The Dakota Access Pipeline is a 1,172-mile
crude-oil pipeline from the Bakken oil fields near Stanley, North Dakota, to
refineries and terminals in Patoka, Illinois. It will move 470,000 barrels of
light sweet crude ( the highest grade
oil ) from the Bakken in North Dakota and Montana to
market oil that is now moved by truck and rail over our roads and bridges. So
the project actually increases efficiency and safety for oil that is already
being transported. Further, the project has undergone years of thorough state
regulatory reviews and an extensive federal environmental assessment, which
found no significant environmental impact.
Twice challenged and twice upheld including by the Obama administration’s own appointees.
The federal courts found that the Army Corps had followed
the appropriate process the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe was properly consulted
and the project can lawfully proceed. Everyone has a right to be heard, but it
must done lawfully and peacefully.
Whether this is
during the permitting process with its opportunities for public comment or else
disputing the outcome through the court system. And I emphasize through the
court system. The ongoing protest
activities which at times have turned violent are being prolonged and intensified by the
Obama Administration’s refusal to approve the final
remaining easement at Lake Oahe.
This inaction has inflamed tensions, strained state and
local resources, and, most importantly, is needlessly putting people at risk including tribal members, protestors, law
enforcement officers, construction workers, and area residents, Our farmers and
ranchers who live and work in the area.
It’s past time that the final easement is approved and
construction is completed. We need to resolve this issue. As the record
demonstrates, it should be done so by its merits through the previously
established regulatory and legal process. Further the federal law enforcement
agencies should help our state and local law enforcement officers to ensure the
law is followed, prevent violent and unlawful protests, and see that the peace is maintained. Our law
enforcement officers have worked professionally, diligently, and tirelessly to
protect the public.
Background
To further describe
the situation, let me provide some background.
The company developed the route for Dakota Access Pipeline beginning in
2014. The current path will run parallel to the existing Northern Border Gas
Pipeline, which was placed into service in 1982, as well as an existing
high-voltage electric transmission line.
Ninety-nine percent of the route for the Dakota Access
pipeline crosses private land. Only 3 percent of the work needed to build the
pipeline requires federal approval of any kind and only 1 percent of the
pipeline affects U.S. waterways. To
date, the pipeline is already 98 percent complete in North Dakota and 86
percent complete overall. This includes the route around and up to the final
0.21-mile portion of the Missouri River where most of the protests are
occurring.
This area of the river known as Lake Oahe is controlled by the Army Corps for flood
control purposes, and requires one remaining federal easement. The segment at the center of this debate is
the small section planned to traverse under Lake Oahe, which would occur at a
depth of 92 to 117 feet below the riverbed. In fact, where it crosses Lake
Oahe, Dakota Access is 100 percent adjacent the existing natural gas pipeline.
This was done so that ground disturbances would not harm intact cultural or
tribal features. To put this issue into
broader context, the Congressional Research Service estimates there are 38,410
crude oil pipeline river and waterbody crossings in the United States,
including 1,079 in North Dakota. These crossings range from rivers, streams,
and lakes, to ponds, canals, and ditches.
Tribal Consultations
In total, the Army Corps held 389 meetings, conferred with
more than 55 tribes, and conducted a 1,261-page environmental assessment,
before finding that this infrastructure project has no significant
environmental impact.
In his September 9th federal court opinion, U.S.
District Judge Boasberg noted the company surveyed nearly twice as many miles
in North Dakota as the 357 miles that would eventually be used for the
pipeline. The federal judge also noted
where the surveys revealed evidence of historically important or cultural
resources, such as stone features, the company modified the route on its own
140 times in North Dakota alone to avoid them. Additionally, the Corps ordered
the company to change the route where it crossed the James River to avoid
burial sites there.
The pipeline company and the Army Corps have documented
dozens of attempts to engage with the
Standing Rock Sioux tribe to help identify historical resources and provide
feedback in the planning process. Judge Boasberg wrote that “the tribe largely
refused to engage in consultations, and chose to hold out for more, namely the
chance to conduct its own cultural surveys over the entire length of the
pipeline.”
Further, Judge Boasberg wrote: “As it has previously
mentioned, this Court does not lightly countenance any depredation of lands
that hold significance to the Standing Rock Sioux. Aware of the indignities
visited upon the Tribe over the last centuries, the Court scrutinizes the
permitting process here with particular care. Having done so, the Court must
nonetheless conclude that the Tribe has
not demonstrated that an injunction is warranted here.”
In the spring of 2016, I helped arrange meetings between
Colonel Henderson and Standing Rock. It was during these meetings that Army
Corps Colonel Henderson imposed several additional conditions on the pipeline,
including a double-walled piping, in response to tribal concerns about
environmental safety. A Tribal Monitoring Plan has also been required, which
requires Dakota Access to allow tribal
monitors at [certain] sites when construction is occurring. Environmental
Assessment In July 2016, the Army Corps issued its final Environmental
Assessment, which concluded with “Finding
of No Significant Impact” and “No Historic Properties Affected” determinations.
The Environmental Assessment “establishes that the [Corps]
made a good faith effort to
consult with the tribes and that it considered all tribal
comments. In addition, Dakota Access has developed response and action plans,
and will include several monitoring systems, shut-off valves and other safety
features to minimize the risk of spills and reduce or remediate any potential
damages.”
In fact, the Army Corps required the company to implement
numerous mitigation plans, including (1) an Environmental Construction plan;
(2) a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan; (3) a Spill Prevention, Control,
and Countermeasure Plan; (4) a Horizontal Directional Drilling Construction
Plan; (5) a Horizontal Directional Drilling Contingency Plan; (6) an
Unanticipated Cultural Resources Discovery Plan; (7) a Geographical Response
Plan; (8) a Facility Response Plan, and (9) a Tribal Monitoring Plan, among
other measures.
Protest Activities
With regard to the
protests, the Obama administration’s inaction on the final federal
easement crossing the Missouri River has created undue
hardship and uncertainty for area residents, private landowners, farmers,
ranchers, tribal members, construction workers, and law enforcement personnel
themselves. Now with winter weather conditions worsening, this inaction has
reached a critical and frankly life-threatening stage.
There have been instances of trespassing, vandalism, theft,
and fire on privately owned ranchland. Residents have endured the challenges
caused by roads being blocked or closed, either by protest activity or law
enforcement’s response to it to ensure safety at a time when farmers and ranchers
are busy harvesting, hauling hay, shipping calves and moving their herds from
summer pasture. In addition, law enforcement is investigating cases of
butchered, mutilated, injured and missing cattle, horses and bison in areas
adjacent to sites occupied by protesters. Law enforcement has worked to protect
everyone. They have been patient, professional, and diligent. They have not
used concussion grenades. More than 500 protestors have been arrested for
breaking the law, and over 90 percent of them are from out of state many if not
most are not Native American. They are environmental activists from other parts
of the country. If you want more information on law enforcement, go to YouTube
“Know the Truth Morton County”
which is a website the Morton County Sheriff’s Office uses
to provide updates on their efforts to maintain law and order at the protest
site. The motto of law enforcement is “To Serve and Protect” and that is
exactly what they are doing.
Conclusion
In accordance with the finding of the Army Corps’
environmental assessment and court
decisions, the Army Corps needs to follow established legal
and regulatory criteria and approve the final easement so that construction can
be completed. In addition, federal resources should be deployed expeditiously
to protect people and property in the area of violent protests to help support
state and local law enforcement efforts. This issue needs to be resolved.
