Dakota Access Pipeline

[[File:Bakken - Dakota Access Oil Pipeline, North Dakota (29357938502).jpg|thumb|right|165px|Scarred earth in support of [[climate change]]]]
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The '''Dakota Access Pipeline''' is a petroleum pipeline that would have run through (or at least near) the Standing Rock [[Native American]] reservation in [[North Dakota]], had former [[President]] [[Barack Obama]] not canceled its lease. It is alleged to violate age-old treaties made with the Sioux, and provoked protests that led to Obama demanding its rerouting.

On January 24, 2017, then-President [[Donald Trump]] signed an executive order to advance the construction of the pipeline under "terms and conditions to be negotiated". The order would expedite the environmental review that Trump described as an "incredibly cumbersome, long, horrible permitting process".<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/01/24/trump-gives-green-light-to-dakota-access-keystone-xl-oil-pipelines/ Trump seeks to revive Dakota Access, Keystone XL oil pipelines] By Steven Mufson & Juliet Eilperin (January 24, 2017) ''The Washington Post''.</ref>

The pipeline finished construction in April 2017, and has been operational since June 2017.<ref name="nydailynews010617">{{cite news | title = Dakota Access pipeline starts transporting oil to customers | url = http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/dakota-access-pipeline-starts-pumping-oil-article-1.3212637 | agency = The Associated Press | newspaper = New York Daily News | date = June 1, 2017 |accessdate=June 10, 2017}}</ref>

== How close to the Standing Rock reservation? ==
The maps showing that the pipeline would have run ''through'' the Standing Rock reservation were based on a treaty signed in the 1830s, which itself was superseded by another signed in the 1870s. The current map for the Standing Rock reservation shows that the pipeline would not have run through any portion of the reservation, but still would have approached within a few miles of it.

The pipeline would have come near Lake Oahe, and the potential threat to the local water supply did merit serious attention.{{efn|And lo and behold: the pipeline suffered five leaks over the course of six months!<ref>{{cws|https://theintercept.com/2018/01/09/dakota-access-pipeline-leak-energy-transfer-partners/|Five spills, six months in operation: Dakota Access track record highlights unavoidable reality|The Intercept}}</ref>}} However, claims that this lake was "sacred to the Sioux for centuries" are bogus; the lake didn't exist until it was created by Oahe Dam in 1948.{{efn|Ironically, the construction of this dam displaced many Native Americans who had previously been living near the river's shoreline.}}

==Police brutality==
During a protest on November 20, 2016, 21-year-old Sophia Wilansky was critically injured when she was struck with a concussion grenade,<ref>Snopes, [https://www.snopes.com/news/2016/11/22/standing-rock-protester-in-danger-of-losing-arm-after-police-use-force/ Protestors wounded after hit with grenade]</ref> and the police unleashed dogs on protestors,<ref>[https://www.cbsnews.com/news/dakota-access-pipeline-protest-turns-violent-in-north-dakota/ Protestors accuse police of unleashing dogs and using pepper spray]</ref> as well as tear gas and frigid water.<ref>[https://www.thedailybeast.com/standing-rock-police-attack-protesters-again-he-just-smiled-and-shot-both-my-kneecaps Police attack protestors again]</ref> Over 117 people were arrested,<ref>[https://www.democracynow.org/2016/10/24/standing_rock_police_arrest_100_water Police arrest 120+ water protestors]</ref> with Native American protestors being handed the longest prison sentences,<ref>[https://archive.thinkprogress.org/native-americans-who-protested-dakota-access-get-handed-the-longest-prison-sentences-e7510ca5f2d7/ Native Americans recieve longer sentences]</ref> with cases of entrapment by federal agents.<ref>[https://theintercept.com/2018/07/13/standing-rock-red-fawn-fallis-sentencing/ Standing Rock protestor sentenced to five years in prison]</ref>

In response to the protests, legislation was introduced that would shield drivers from liability if they had run over protestors "blocking vehicular traffic".<ref>{{cws|https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-bills-protest-criminal-20170201-story.html|In North Dakota, it could become legal to hit a protester with your car|Los Angeles Times}}</ref>

==Corporate conspiracy and standard conspiracying==
* The DAPL Company started a RICO lawsuit accusing various environmental organizations of inciting protests to increase donations.<ref>The Intercept, [https://theintercept.com/2017/11/15/dakota-access-pipeline-dapl-tigerswan-energy-transfer-partners-rico-lawsuit/ DAPL Company paid mercenaries to build conspiracy lawsuit], 2017/11/15</ref>
* There were also false claims that protesters were [[Chemtrails|sprayed with chemicals]] from crop duster planes.<ref>Snopes, [https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/are-standing-rock-protesters-being-sprayed-with-chemicals-from-crop-duster-planes/ Protestors sprayed with chemicals is false], 1 December 2016</ref>
* There were also accusations of the police setting a protest camp on fire,<ref>Snopes, [https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/police-burn-standing-rock-camp/ Police burns camp false]</ref> a police sniper shooting and killing an eleven year old girl,<ref>Snopes, [https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/girl-shot-at-standing-rock/ Girl shot by sniper is false]</ref> that it was a [[False flag|false flag]] operation driven by greed and celebrity-seeking.<ref>Snopes, [https://www.snopes.com/news/2016/11/28/what-those-dakota-access-pipeline-protesters-dont-tell-you/ DAPL protests are driven by paid agitators]</ref>

==External links ==
*{{wpa|Dakota Access Pipeline}}
*Somehow, [[Donald Trump]] is still getting to be a part of [http://www.cnbc.com/2016/12/05/trump-sells-his-stake-in-dakota-access-pipeline-developer.html this].
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBElQt0PXtg #NoDAPL: A Just Cause or Just Because?], video by Knowing Better

==Notes==
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==References==
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{{stub|environmentalism}}
[[Category:Government incompetence]]
[[Category:Native Americans]]
[[Category:Transport]]

Categories: Government incompetence, Native Americans, Transport