Interior Secretary Nominee on DAPL: “If something shuts down then jobs can be lost”
Fox Business reported President Biden’s nominee for interior secretary, New Mexico Rep. Debra Haaland, conceded during her confirmation hearing that shutting down the Dakota Access Pipeline would cost jobs.
During the hearing, North Dakota Senator John Hoeven raised concern regarding the impact of a DAPL shutdown and economic consequences that would come to the state and the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara (MHA) Nation, who ships much of their production through DAPL and receives tax revenue from its operation.
Hoeven pointed out the tribes ship 300,000 bpd through the Dakota Access Pipeline, and the oil they produce represents about 90 percent of their revenue – revenue that helps fund education, healthcare, infrastructure, and other essential services.
Biden is facing calls from Democratic politicians and celebrities to shutter DAPL, despite its safe operation and critical role in strengthening the US economy and our energy security. DAPL transports up to 570,000 bpd from the Bakken oilfields of North Dakota to an energy hub in southern Illinois.
On his first day in office, Biden revoked a key permit for the Keystone XL pipeline, which would have transported up to 830,000 barrels of crude oil per day from Alberta to Nebraska, and sustained more than 11,000 jobs in 2021.
Before blocking new pipeline construction and shuttering existing infrastructure, it is important President Biden and those calling for these policies consider the long-term impact of these shortsighted policies.