DoomsdaysCW<p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/StandingRockSioux" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>StandingRockSioux</span></a> Tribe files new lawsuit over <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/DAPL" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>DAPL</span></a> </p><p>By: Mary Steurer - October 15, 2024 </p><p>"The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe on Monday filed a new lawsuit against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers arguing that the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/DakotaAccessPipeline" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>DakotaAccessPipeline</span></a> is operating illegally and must be shut down.</p><p>"The tribe has long opposed the pipeline, also referred to as DAPL, due to concerns that it violates the tribe’s <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/sovereignty" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>sovereignty</span></a>, endangers <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/sacred" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>sacred</span></a> cultural sites and threatens to pollute the tribe’s <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WaterSupply" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>WaterSupply</span></a>.</p><p>"The Army Corps of Engineers has jurisdiction over the section of the pipeline that passes under <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/LakeOahe" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>LakeOahe</span></a> — a reservoir on the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/MissouriRiver" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>MissouriRiver</span></a> — roughly a half-mile upstream from the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/StandingRockReservation" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>StandingRockReservation</span></a>.</p><p>"The tribe in a 34-page complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia argues the Army Corps flouted federal regulations by allowing the pipeline to operate without an easement, sufficient study of possible <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/environmental" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>environmental</span></a> impacts or the necessary emergency spill response plans, among other alleged violations.</p><p>"'We are fighting for our rights and the water that is life for Oceti Sakowin tribes,' Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Chairwoman <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/JanetAlkire" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>JanetAlkire</span></a> said during a news conference the afternoon of <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/IndigenousPeoplesDay" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>IndigenousPeoplesDay</span></a>.</p><p>"The Army Corps of Engineers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.</p><p>"The more than 1,000-mile-long pipeline carries crude oil from the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/BakkenOilFields" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>BakkenOilFields</span></a> of northwest North Dakota to Illinois, and has been operating since 2017. Its pathway includes <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/unceded" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>unceded</span></a> land recognized as belonging to the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SiouxNation" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>SiouxNation</span></a> under an <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/1851Treaty" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>1851Treaty</span></a> with the U.S. government.</p><p>"The lawsuit was triggered in part by a 2024 engineering report that raised questions about the construction of the pipeline crossing below Lake Oahe, representatives of the tribe said Monday.</p><p>"The report calculated that up to 1.4 million gallons of bentonite clay-based drilling mud used in the horizontal directional drilling process was not fully accounted for in construction records. The report notes that there is no clear indication where the fluid migrated, but that it could have seeped into the surrounding soil.</p><p>“'The Corps has failed to act and failed to protect the tribe,' Alkire said of the report’s findings.</p><p>"The report was prepared by engineering consulting firm Exponent for environmental advocacy group <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Greenpeace" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Greenpeace</span></a> as part of an ongoing lawsuit brought by pipeline developer <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/EnergyTransfer" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>EnergyTransfer</span></a>. Greenpeace commissioned the report to defend itself against Energy Transfer’s allegations that Greenpeace defamed the pipeline during its involvement in protests against DAPL in 2016 and 2017.</p><p>[...]</p><p>"Standing Rock’s complaint also emphasizes that the Dakota Access Pipeline has still been allowed to operate despite that it no longer has an easement authorizing it to cross under Lake Oahe.</p><p>"The Army Corps approved the easement in 2017, but a federal judge later revoked it in 2020, finding that the Corps violated environmental law by granting it without properly researching the possible environmental impacts of the pipeline.</p><p>[...]</p><p>"The ban was related to a criminal pollution case against Energy Transfer for two pipelines in <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Pennsylvania" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Pennsylvania</span></a>. Violations alleged in the criminal case included that Energy Transfer had used unapproved additives in the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/DrillingFluid" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>DrillingFluid</span></a> used to construct one of the pipelines. The company was convicted of <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/EnvironmentalCrimes" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>EnvironmentalCrimes</span></a> under Pennsylvania law.</p><p>"For this reason, Standing Rock wonders whether the drilling fluid used to bore under Lake Oahe truly contained no toxins.</p><p>"'That’s a question the tribe has — what was in the drilling fluid?' Don Holstrom, an environmental consultant for Standing Rock, said Monday."</p><p>Full article:<br><a href="https://dailymontanan.com/2024/10/15/standing-rock-sioux-tribe-files-new-lawsuit-over-dapl/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">dailymontanan.com/2024/10/15/s</span><span class="invisible">tanding-rock-sioux-tribe-files-new-lawsuit-over-dapl/</span></a> </p><p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WaterIsLife" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>WaterIsLife</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/StandWithStandingRock" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>StandWithStandingRock</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/NoDAPL" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>NoDAPL</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/KelcyWarren" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>KelcyWarren</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Trump" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Trump</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/StandWithStandingRock" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>StandWithStandingRock</span></a><br><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/NoDAPL" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>NoDAPL</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CorporateColonialism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>CorporateColonialism</span></a><br><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/BigOilAndGas" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>BigOilAndGas</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WaterIsLife" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>WaterIsLife</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/EnvironmentalRacism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>EnvironmentalRacism</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/StandingRock" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>StandingRock</span></a></p>