Update on Construction of Dakota Access Pipeline
Construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline, also known as the Bakken Pipeline, began in May in North and South Dakota and in Illinois. Permits have not been issued yet for the sections of the pipeline that are slated to cross the Missouri River and the Mississippi. The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe is still holding strong in protest at their Sacred Stone Camp since April 1st, though pipeline construction is now visible just across the Missouri river from their homelands.
In Iowa, preparation for construction began without final federal approval, with the chopping of swaths of trees in wooded areas and land stripping. The company that is building the pipeline, Energy Transfer Partners (ETP), has also been stockpiling miles of pipe along the proposed route in preparation for digging. One of the areas in Iowa that has not been approved is on the Big Sioux Wildlife Management area in the northwestern part of the state. There is an ancestral burial ground for the Oceti Sakowin (Seven Council Fires of the Great Sioux Nation) on this land. On Friday, June 3rd, The Upper Sioux Community Tribal Historic Preservation Office (THPO) went to the ancestral burial site, accompanied by John F. Doershuk- Iowa state archaeologist, Jon Eagle of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, Chief Arvol Looking Horse- 19th generation pipe carrier, and other tribal elders and council members. Carolyn Raffensperger, executive director of the Science and Environmental Health Network, attended as well to document environmental damage.
They were met that morning by Michel’s Pipeline work crew, which works for ETP. They had been ordered to stop work in the Wildlife Management Area, but came ready to continue felling trees anyway. The group of officials and tribal elders managed to send them away, but up to this point these builders have not made a good track record regarding obeying construction regulations and holding off until all permits have been given final approval. It shows how accustomed this industry has become to being able to do whatever it wants, wherever it wants. This dynamic is beginning to change.
After examining the burial grounds, the state archaeologist of Iowa stated that “the site is to be avoided and protected in place.” According to Kevin Baskins, a spokesman for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, “a sovereign lands construction permit for the pipeline has not been revoked by state officials, but a stop order has been issued until archaeological aspects have been addressed.”
On June 6th, the Iowa Utilities Board passed a vote 2-1 for the pipeline construction to begin in the state. They still need approval for the 37 miles of lands that are under the jurisdiction of the Army Corps of Engineers. No details are available yet as to where the construction will begin. Some locals have pledged to engage in civil disobedience in order to stop the DAP. Several lawsuits have also been filed by property owners in the state who are objecting to the use of eminent domain to take over their precious farmland.
See the first article about the Dakota Access Pipeline here.
