It's easy to pick on our President. Lately, it's been his white-supremacy undertones (overtones?) that we've been able to easily key in on. But, I'd like to remind you that before he was being anti-Semitic and racist...he was bashing the indigenous peoples of North Dakota.
“I’m pleased to announce that the Dakota Access Pipeline … is now officially open for business, a $3.8 billion investment in American infrastructure that was stalled and nobody thought any politician would have the guts to approve that final leg,” President Dump said.
“I just close my eyes and said ‘do it.'”
The action (and description of the action) was moronic on many levels. First, as previously explained, this was less an action of Trump and more of U.S. environmental process in action. The Army Corps of Engineers did an environmental analysis with several alternatives and chose a route which had the fewest impacts to cultural and environmental resources...AND, Obama's EPA approved it.
However, for those of us paying attention, a judge, on June 14 of this year, "has ruled that permits authorized by the Trump administration to fast-track the completion of the Dakota Access Pipeline violated the law." In a 91-page ruling, the court ruled that the Army Corps of Engineers “did not adequately consider the impacts of an oil spill on fishing rights, hunting rights, or environmental justice, or the degree to which the pipeline’s effects are likely to be highly controversial.”
Duh, that's what the peaceful protesters said. You remember them, right? The Native Americans who rallied on Federal land without firearms (albeit without permits) to bring to light the potential consequences of a spill on cultural (read: people, fishing, etc.) and environmental resources down-stream.
This is a bit after the fact, though, as pumping had begun several weeks before this decision. A request by the Tribes to halt pumping while this was being considered was denied. To make things more bitter, a counter-suit was filed in Federal court against the protesters. Shooting them with rubber bullets and water canons wasn't enough. "Energy Transfer Partners of Dallas, Texas, listed the lawsuit's defendants as Greenpeace International, Earth First!, BankTrack, and other organizations and individuals." They're claiming eco-terrorism. To say the suit is punitive is an understatement. Regardless of the outcome, Energy Transfer Partners wasn't being held back for completion by the protestors...it was held back by Obama. Secondly, they got their wish through Trump and completed the pipeline, and began pumping oil into it. Third, who paid for the enforcement (i.e. shooting innocent people) at Standing Rock? Why, the good people of North Dakota did, to the tune of $38 million...and, according to their whining to the Feds, they're only asking that they be reimbursed $14 million by the Federal Government. Trump's administration approved $10 million, to make them go away. We'll see if that works.
What's next? Based on the judge's decision, there needs to be public input/comments into the allegations that President Small Hands' maneuver was, in fact, illegal and didn't consider the down-stream impacts of a spill. That public meeting has already been delayed at the request of Energy Transfer Partners who may or may not have also removed too many trees and improperly handled contaminated soil, thereby violating State Law. Also, at issue is another security firm is being sued for providing "security services" (read: mercenary enforcement against protesters). They're looking to get it thrown out claiming that they only provided consulting. B.S. There's video everywhere, and this time it is the State of North Dakota bringing the charges against a firm not licensed to do business of that sort in the State.
So, a muddy picture of how this moves forward. It's possible and likely that all of this is frivolous and that the pipeline will continue to pump oil until a severe accident occurs, which will likely get swept under the carpet by an administration who picks and chooses the environmental facts that best suit its purpose. It will impact some of the poorest people in the United States, practically confined to the Reservation. The only black and white outcome from this is that, if DAPL continues to operate, there's only one real winner, and that's Kelcy Warren, chief executive of Energy Transfer who tripled his net worth at the stroke of Trump's pen.
I'm beginning to feel like I need to keep a list akin to Arya's from Game of Thrones, of things we have to remember to undo once Agent Orange has left the building. But, it's clear that we need to pay attention to the successes and failures of opposing this project along with the President's apparent bigotry, the raping our National Monuments for fossil fuel reclamation, climate change, and, of course Russian interference in our political processes. I realize that equates to many sticks in the fire, but if we don't mind them all, our culture, our environment and our democracy may burn down around us.
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