Dakota Access pipeline: judge rules environmental survey was inadequate

A federal judge has handed a lifeline to efforts to block the Dakota Access pipeline, ruling Wednesday that the US Army Corps of Engineers did not adequately consider the possible impacts of an oil spill where the pipeline passes under the Missouri river. US district judge James Boasberg said in a 91-page decision that the corps failed to take into account how a spill might affect “fishing rights, hunting rights, or environmental justice, or the degree to which the pipeline’s effects are likely to be highly controversial” (source The Guardian).

Six banks step away from Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) and backers

In February 2017, ABN AMRO, ING, BayernLB and Nordea all announced they would step away from financing the project or its backers. ABN AMRO committed to end its financing for Energy Transfer Equity (ETE) if the pipeline proceeds without consent from the Standing Rock Sioux or with further violence. Nordea excluded three companies behind the Dakota Access Pipeline from investment. BayernLB stated it will withdraw from financing DAPL at the earliest opportunity, and not provide further finance. In March, ING became the first bank to sell its portion of a project loan to the pipeline. A good move followed by DNB (entered into an agreement to sell its part of the loan) and by BNP Paribas (sold its part of the loan in April). 

Army Corps of Engineers issues easement, construction begun

On February 8, 2017, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers granted an easement to Dakota Access, LLC allowing the installation of a thirty-inch diameter light crude oil pipeline under Federal lands managed by the Corps at Oahe Reservoir. The granting of this easement follows the February 7th Secretary of the Army decision to terminate the Notice of Intent to Perform an Environmental Impact Statement and notification to Congress of the Army’s intent to grant an easement to Dakota Access for the Lake Oahe crossing.

Seven banks—including Wells Fargo, TD Bank, and Citibank—will meet with Standing Rock Sioux leaders after months of intense defund-DAPL pressure

As fierce resistance to the Dakota Access pipeline played out on the North Dakota plains this fall and winter, other activists were putting pressure on the banks financing the pipeline. They called executives, held protests in branches, and moved their money. At least USD52 million has been withdrawn so far, according to organizers. Read more here.

Trump criticised on revival of Dakota Access Pipeline

Donald Trump was sharply criticised by Native Americans and climate change activists on Tuesday after he signed executive orders to allow construction of the Dakota Access and Keystone XL oil pipelines. Both pipe projects had been blocked by Barack Obama’s administration, partly because of environmental concerns. But Trump has questioned the science of climate change and campaigned on a promise to expand energy infrastructure and create jobs (source The Guardian).

US Army Corps will not grant easement for Dakota Access Pipeline crossing

The Department of the Army will not approve an easement that would allow the proposed Dakota Access Pipeline to cross under Lake Oahe in North Dakota, the Army's Assistant Secretary for Civil Works announced on December 4.
Jo-Ellen Darcy said she based her decision on a need to explore alternate routes for the Dakota Access Pipeline crossing. Darcy said that the consideration of alternative routes would be best accomplished through an Environmental Impact Statement with full public input and analysis (source US Army Corps).

ABN AMRO Bank responds on Dakota Access Pipeline

ABN AMRO issued a statement denying involvement in the financing of the Dakota Pipeline, but acknowledged its credit relation with Energy Transfer Equity, the parent company of the project. Find the statement here (in Dutch).

Norwegian bank DNB sells it assets in companies building the Dakota Access Pipeline

The largest bank in Norway, DNB, has announced that it has sold its assets in the Dakota Access Pipeline. The assets were USD 3 million worth. DNB recently indicated that it is also reconsidering the loans it provided. In response to the news, Greenpeace Norway Sustainable Finance Campaigner Martin Norman said: “It is great that DNB has sold its assets in the disputed pipeline, and it is a clear signal that it is important that people speak out when injustice is committed. We now expect DNB to also terminate its loans for the project immediately.”

Norwegian bank DNB says considering pulling financing on Dakota Access Pipeline

Norwegian bank DNB will reconsider its participation in the financing of the Dakota Access Pipeline if concerns raised by Native American tribes are not addressed, the bank stated on November 6. Local authorities and protesters have been clashing over Energy Transfer Partner's USD 3.8 billion Dakota Access Pipeline project, which would offer the fastest and most direct route to bring shale oil from North Dakota to Illinois. Native American tribes contend that the pipeline would disturb sacred land and pollute waterways supplying nearby homes. "DNB looks with worry at how the situation around the pipeline in North Dakota has developed. The bank will therefore take initiative and use its position to bring about a more constructive process to find a solution to the conflict," Norway's largest bank said in a statement ( source Reuters).

ING expresses its concern in financing the Dakota Access Pipeline

ING, being one of 17 banks financing the Dakota Access Pipeline, with an investment of USD 120 million, expresses its concern in the following statement.

Joint Statement from the Dep. of Justice, the Dep. of the Army and the Dep. of the Interior Regarding Standing Rock Sioux Tribe v. U.S. Army Corps

The Department of Justice, the Department of the Army and the Department of the Interior issued the following statement regarding Standing Rock Sioux Tribe v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: "We appreciate the District Court's opinion on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' compliance with the National Historic Preservation Act.  However, important issues raised by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and other tribal nations and their members regarding the Dakota Access pipeline specifically, and pipeline-related decision-making generally, remain. Therefore, the Department of the Army, the Department of Justice, and the Department of the Interior will take the following steps.

The Army will not authorize constructing the Dakota Access pipeline on Corps land bordering or under Lake Oahe until it can determine whether it will need to reconsider any of its previous decisions regarding the Lake Oahe site under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) or other federal laws.  Therefore, construction of the pipeline on Army Corps land bordering or under Lake Oahe will not go forward at this time.  The Army will move expeditiously to make this determination, as everyone involved - including the pipeline company and its workers - deserves a clear and timely resolution.  In the interim, we request that the pipeline company voluntarily pause all construction activity within 20 miles east or west of Lake Oahe.

The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe files their complaint

On July 27th 2016 a complaint was filed by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, represented by EarthJustice. The lawsuit challenges the federal government's deeply flawed process for permitting the pipeline. The project is expected to go forward without any comprehensive environmental review or meaningful consultation with the Tribe, as Dakota Access secured the necessary approvals from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers using a self-service permitting scheme that is urgently in need of reform. Details of the complaint can be found here.