Native American Tribes including the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe on Sept. 22 told the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that the environmental study on Dakota Access oil pipeline is biased and urged the Biden administration to bring in the U.S. Interior Department.
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia revoked a key environmental permit for the largest pipeline out of the North Dakota oil basin last year and ordered the study.
The Tribes said on Sept. 22 they believe the process is currently designed to justify issuing a new permit in the same location and that the draft of the study does not take into account technical and cultural information that the Tribes have presented to the Corps.
"Our participation in the EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) process and review of the initial draft reveals that the Corps has fundamentally misunderstood the courts' directive and the requirements of the law," the Tribes said in the letter addressed to Jaime Pinkham, acting assistant secretary of the Army for Civil Works, on Sept. 22.
"The Administration must bring in the U.S. Department of the Interior as a co-equal cooperating agency with appropriate expertise to assist the Corps in centering Tribal impacts and concerns which motivated this EIS in the first place."
Dakota Access' operators earlier this week asked the U.S. Supreme Court to revisit whether the 570,000 barrel-per-day pipeline requires additional environmental review.
The pipeline entered service in 2017 following months of protests by environmentalists, Native American tribes and their supporters. Opponents said its construction destroyed sacred artifacts and posed a threat to Lake Oahe, a critical drinking supply, and the greater Missouri River.
Energy Transfer, which operates the line, has said it is safe.
Recommended Reading
Exclusive: Adkins on Challenged Gas Prices, Growing Crude Demand
2024-05-15 - J. Marshall Adkins, head of energy investment banking at Raymond James, details the future of natural gas prices and misconceptions about crude demand coming to an end in this Hart Energy Exclusive interview.
CoolCo, GAIL Enter Long-term LNG Agreement
2024-05-16 - CoolCo and GAIL’s agreement is intended to secure long-term LNG supply in India’s market, with GAIL having an option to extend the 14-year agreement by another two years.
ConocoPhillips Looks to Scale Portfolio, But Citgo Auction Not a Factor
2024-05-15 - ConocoPhillips has a long-term ambition to boost its LNG offtake capacity to between 10 mtpa to 15 mtpa as it keeps a short-term eye on the auction of Citgo Petroleum.
Linde Doubles Production Capacity at Gulf Coast Facility
2024-05-14 - Linde’s expansion of the production capacity at its air separation facility in La Porte, Texas, will help meet growing demand for industrial gases in the area.
Gas Prices in a Summer of Discontent
2024-05-14 - In February, natural gas prices dropped below $2/MMBtu and stayed there. How is the market handling it, and when will the price pick back up?