Deni Mathews, dmathews@saveourillinoisland.org, (847) 893-9095
Gabby Brown, gabby.brown@sierraclub.org, 914-261-4626
Chicago, IL -- Concerned Illinois residents are attending a hearing today before the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) to show opposition to the proposed expansion of the Dakota Access pipeline.
Dakota Access Pipeline and Energy Transfer Crude Oil, subsidiaries of Texas-based oil corporation Energy Transfer Partners (ETP), are seeking to nearly double the amount of oil running through the controversial pipeline. Doubling the flow rate will increase the risk that the pipeline will rupture, and the additional oil, when burned, will emit as much annual climate pollution as 15 coal-fired power plants or 20 million cars. DAPL/ETCO have repeatedly refused to acknowledge the impact the expansion would have on Illinois land, air, and water or the climate.
Representatives from Save Our Illinois Land and the Sierra Club Illinois Chapter joined local advocates at a press conference before the legal hearing to speak out against the proposed pipeline expansion.
Deni Matthews, Save Our Illinois Land: "We can no longer tolerate business as usual - by this appointed commission or by any elected official. Every decision made on behalf of the people of this state must consider the impact on climate change above all else."
Sam Beard, Conservation Organizer, Sierra Club: "This much is clear: to vote to approve to double DAPL, to vote to literally double down on the unconscionably obscene extraction operations and double down on the carbon emissions that come along with it, would be to turn your back on your children, and on your people—it would be to say to them that you don’t care about their future, because you have chosen to side with forces that are destroying it."
Jennifer Thompson, Native activist and Save Our Illinois Land board member: “This very spot where we are standing is Indigenous land. The native tribes that were here are no longer in Illinois. We have no reservations. Does that mean that the earth is no longer sacred because the land is now owned by others? No. We fight to protect the land because it is the right thing to do. Increasing the flow of the Dakota Access pipeline will increase our risk of contamination to our wildlife, land, and water supply.”
Bella Hubbard, founding member of E-town Sunrise, Evanston: “It is surreal and deeply disillusioning for us (the youth) to see the science, to see the disasters and their effects, and to see people in power do nothing.”
For photos from today’s pre-hearing press conference or to coordinate interviews with attorneys or other spokespeople, contact Gabby Brown at gabby.brown@sierraclub.org
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.5 million members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.