Recently, protests over the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) have garnered mass publicity via social media and the press. Newspapers and websites are covered in photographs of injured Native American protesters. The #NoDAPL movement has a running petition with over 350,000 signatures. Celebrity activists like Shailene Woodley, Mark Ruffalo, and even Bernie Sanders have expressed their opposition to the DAPL. In this blog post, I will attempt to elucidate the two sides of the dispute regarding the environmental debate on DAPL, which centers around the possibility of an oil spill.
First, what exactly is the Dakota Access Pipeline? This controversial $3.8 billion project aims to build a pipeline crossing 200 rivers that will connect oil production areas in North Dakota to pipelines in Illinois. It is about 60% constructed already. If completed, the network will transport nearly 470,000 barrels of sweet crude oil from Bakken and Three Forks in North Dakota to major US markets. However, the pipeline’s construction runs through the reservation lands of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe. The first Americans of this tribe claim that completion of the DAPL project will pollute the water supply, threaten public health, and violate the sanctity of the reservation.
Looking away from ethical arguments, the DAPL raises unclear environmental implications. Energy Transfer Partners, the company at the helm of the project, claims that the DAPL will significantly reduce truck and railroad transportation usage in the long term because the pipeline will serve as a more efficient mode of oil transfer. In turn, domestic oil production will go up and domestic energy independence will increase. Energy Transfer also says that the “new advanced pipeline technology” contains “tremendous safety factors” to protect against any risk of an oil spill.
On the other hand, the Standing Rock Sioux and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cast these illustrious claims into doubt. When the US Army Corps of Engineers originally presented the draft for DAPL to the EPA, the EPA warned them that the oil could leak into rivers – a warning that the Army Corps dismissed. Additionally, the recent shift of the pipeline path to under Lake Oahe concerns the Sioux because an oil spill there could contaminate the water supply for the rez inhabitants and ruin the aquatic ecosystem.
The Standing Rock Sioux have a strong environmental argument to avoid an oil spill in their waters. Oil spills are notorious forms of pollution because of the permanent damage they can wreak on a body of water and the organisms that rely on that water. They can block sunlight from passing through the water surface, which can be fatal to marine organisms. The oil can get stuck in the feathers and fur of nearby animals; many animals cannot float, choke to death, or become blind. Baby animals run the risk of starving to death if their parent cannot detect their scent under the coat of oil.
The level of environmental risk the DAPL poses to the reservation area differs depending on who you ask. Still, it’s clear that an oil spill would be catastrophic and the Standing Rock Sioux would have more to lose should one occur. I personally stand with the #NoDAPL movement in more ways than one, especially factoring in this nation’s history of Native American oppression and the shaky scientific basis that the pipeline technology rests on. For now, the Obama administration has asked Energy Transfer Partners to temporarily halt the progression of the pipeline, leaving the fate of the DAPL in limbo until all details are above ground.
Sources
http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/no-dapl?source=s.tw&r_by=10164408
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/sep/13/dakota-access-pipeline-protests-north-dakota-sioux
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3036302-DAPLSTLFINALEAandSIGNEDFONSI-3Aug2016.html
http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/07/us/dakota-access-pipeline-visual-guide/
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/understanding-controversy-behind-dakota-access-pipeline-180960450/?no-ist
http://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/a-pipeline-fight-and-americas-dark-past
http://www.conserve-energy-future.com/effects-of-oil-spills.php
