What Comes Next for the Dakota Access Pipeline

Supporters of the protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline celebrated the Obama administration’s decision Sunday not to approve a key permit allowing the pipeline’s builder to complete the project. The decision undoubtedly represents a significant victory for those gathered in North Dakota by the Standing Rock Indian Reservation, but the long struggle to block the pipeline remains far from over. The federal government did not definitively reject the path crossing the Missouri and instead chose to spend time—perhaps months or years—on further review, which will ultimately leave the final decision to the incoming Trump administration. “This is a victory for organizing, and it doesn’t stop now,” says Dallas Goldtooth of the Indigenous Environmental Network. “More threats are likely in the year to come, and we cannot stop until this pipeline is completely and utterly defeated.” Read More: Standing Rock Video Portraits Show How Protesters Are Preparing for a Long Winter At the heart of the protests and the recent decision is the pipeline’s crossing under the Missouri River, less than a mile from the Standing Rock Indian Reservation. A permit approval to cross the river in that location is the only permit that remains outstanding for the project. The tribe has argued that the crossing threatens their primary source of drinking water and crosses over ancestral lands. Importantly, tribal leaders have said the government ...
Source: TIME.com: Top Science and Health Stories - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Environment Source Type: news