| NBCNews.com | - |
In
the Oceti Sakowin camp, native and non-native alike danced to
celebratory drumming that blasted through loudspeakers. But reality soon
began to sink in among the thousands who have been fighting the
construction of the 1,172-mile Dakota Access ...
What's Next for the Dakota Access Pipeline? Some Protesters Wary of Future
In the Oceti Sakowin camp, native and non-native alike danced to celebratory drumming that blasted through loudspeakers.
But reality soon began to sink in among the thousands who have been fighting the construction of the 1,172-mile Dakota Access Pipeline for months, which the Standing Rock Sioux tribe and others say endangers local drinking water and would disturb sacred tribal sites.
Here's what may be next for the protesters and Energy Transfer Partners, the Dallas-based company building the pipeline, after the U.S. Army Corps turned down the permit for the project.
What can Trump do?
Trump can overturn Sunday's U.S. Corps decision.The president-elect has never publicly commented on the Dakota Access Pipeline, but he has pledged to invest in infrastructure projects. During the campaign, he also supported the Keystone XL oil pipeline, which has also prompted opposition.
In an interview with NBC News in November, Energy Transfer Partners CEO Kelcy Warren said he was "100 percent sure that the pipeline will be approved by a Trump administration."
"I believe we will have a government in place that believes in energy infrastructure," he said.
In June, Warren donated $100,000 to the Trump Victory Fund, a joint fundraising committee for Trump's campaign, and a further $3,000 directly to the Trump campaign. For his part, Trump's campaign financial disclosure forms revealed the President-elect's investments totaling between $500,000 and $1 million in Energy Transfer Partners.
What could Energy Partners do?
The Dallas-based company financing the $3.7 billion project does not look to be backing down."The Administration's statement today that it would not at this time issue an 'easement' to Dakota Access Pipeline is a purely political action," read a statement by the company Sunday.
When asked by NBC News whether the company would be willing to pay any fines to the government if they continued construction, an Energy Transfer Partners spokesperson said "it would not."
These fines would be slapped on Energy Partners if the company defies the Corps of Engineers' orders and drills under Lake Oahe, a large Missouri River reservoir. That stretch required an easement from federal authorities.
Will the pipeline be re-routed?
The Army Corps assistant secretary for civil works, Jo-Ellen Darcy, said in a statement Sunday that the Corps based their decision permission to the company "on a need to explore alternate routes for the Dakota Access Pipeline crossing."The pipeline would cross 90 to 115 feet below Lake Oahe with double walled and remote-controlled shutoff valves on each side of the crossing. The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, whose reservation lies just a half-mile from where the pipeline would be constructed, has for months said the pipeline would destroy the area's water supply and ancient sacred sites dating back 15,000 years.
The tribe's worries the pipeline would destroy sacred sites and compromise its water supply "were not based on the facts," Energy Transfer Partners' Warren told NBC News.
Warren has also told NBC News that there was no guarantee an oil spill would not happen, but the pipeline would be prepared to withstand such an event.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has said it will look at possible alternate routes, although any other route is also likely to cross the Missouri River.
What will pipeline opponents do next?
The U.S. Corps of Engineers decision to deny the permit to Energy Partners was welcomed, albeit cautiously, by those opposing the construction.
Still, the new Trump government would bring with it renewed struggle, according to Charlotte Bad Cob, from the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.
"This is a temporary celebration. I think this is just a rest," she told Reuters. "With a new government it could turn and we could be at it again."
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