Megan Wittman, megan.wittman@sierraclub.org
Washington, D.C. – Today the Biden Administration released a draft of an environmental study on the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL).
For years, Indigenous leaders, including the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, have led the fight against DAPL, calling on President Biden to restore balance and Nation to Nation relations by taking action to shut the pipeline down, just as he has done with Keystone XL.
The environmental impact statement follows the 2020 district court decision that ordered the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Army Corps) to examine the pipeline’s potential to rupture and its impacts on Tribes. The Army Corps will be considering comments on this draft study released today from the public before making a determination about authorizing a new easement for the pipeline and whether or not it should be allowed to continue operating.
In January 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit agreed that the Army Corps violated the law in approving the easement. The pipeline has continued operating without a legal easement despite this ruling.
Sierra Club Executive Director Ben Jealous released the following statement:
“Six years of this dirty, dangerous oil pipeline putting Tribal land and water resources at risk is six years too long. There is no need to wait for even more analysis when the Biden Administration has all the information they need. President Biden can and should shut down the Dakota Access Pipeline immediately. He must act to protect these communities and live up to his climate and environmental justice commitments by shutting it down once and for all.”
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About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of 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.