North Dakota tribes continue to make accusations against US Army Corps of Engineers
The tribes in North Dakota are back at it again – they picked up where they left off in their crusade against the Dakota Access Pipeline with new allegations this past week. The Standing Rock, Cheyenne River, Yankton and Oglala Sioux tribes have accused the US Army Corps of Engineers – a reputable, nonpartisan government agency tasked with building and maintaining America’s infrastructure – of withholding documents that suggest the Corps disregarded a federal judge’s order to review the pipeline’s potential impact on the tribes.
There is no reason for a professional organization consisting of career experts and engineers to disregard potential issues regarding DAPL. As detailed on its website, the Corps utilizes “environmental sustainability as a guiding principle” and works “diligently to strengthen our Nation’s security by building and maintaining America’s infrastructure and providing military facilities where our servicemembers train, work and live.”
Despite years of regulatory review as well as continued study on the potential effects of the pipeline, the tribes refuse to accept that Dakota Access does not unfairly impact them. After numerous legal challenges and the recent baseless allegations against the Army Corps of Engineers, it is clear they are ignoring facts and government officials and will instead continue to promote biased rhetoric based in the DAPL protests.
For over a year and a half, the pipeline has been safely carrying more than 500,000 barrels of crude oil each day to consumer markets across the US. It’s time to recognize the important contributions DAPL provides to both North Dakota’s economy and the US energy industry moving forward.
