It’s time Congress stands up to big oil and shuts down the Dakota Access Pipeline immediately until a full environmental review is conducted. The 1,172-mile-long underground oil pipeline, which begins in northwest North Dakota and continues through South Dakota into Iowa to a terminal in Patoka, Illinois, is currently operating without a permit and is in violation of several environmental laws.
According to the Sierra Club, “a federal judge ruled that the Army Corps of Engineers violated key environmental laws in its permitting of the pipeline, and ordered the Corps to conduct a full environmental review that considers the danger to the Tribe and the risk of an oil spill.” After the court threw out a key permit for the pipeline, the Trump administration allowed operation to continue.
Now is the time for President Biden to take action and “end a long and shameful history of government sponsored dispossession and disrespect of Tribal rights.” DAPL must be shut down until the dangers and impacts to the infrastructure are studied to justify the pipeline’s continued operation.
Tell Congress to shut down DAPL and restore tribal sovereignty, protect our waterways, and our climate.
