Dakota Pipeline By: Parth and Shivam

Background The Dakota Access Pipeline Project is a new approximate 1,172-mile, 30-inch diameter pipeline that will connect the Bakken and Three Forks production areas in North Dakota to Patoka, Illinois. The pipeline will enable domestically produced crude oil from North Dakota to reach major refining markets. The pipeline will also reduce the current use of rail and truck transportation to move Bakken crude oil to major U.S. markets to support domestic demand. It will transport approximately 470,000 barrels per day with a capacity as high as 570,000 barrels per day or more.

Potential Water Contamination The protesters have argued that the pipeline construction will disturb sacred lands and burial grounds. In addition, the Standing Rock Sioux tribe is worried about the environmental impact of the pipeline, since it will run under the Missouri River, which supplies the tribe’s drinking water.

Purpose of the Dakota Pipeline project The Dakota Access, LLC's planning applications argued that the pipeline was meant to improve the overall safety of the public, would help the US to attain energy independence, and was a more reliable method of transport to refineries than rail or road. This would also provide 8,000 to 12,000 temporary jobs and 40 permanent jobs.

Health Problem An in-depth 2010 report from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, which looked at the effects of three major oil spills, found increased incidences of cancer and digestive problems in people who had ingested the oil directly (in drinking water) or indirectly (through eating the meat of livestock exposed to the oil). In addition, people who had used contaminated water for bathing or laundry appeared to experience a higher incidence of skin problems, ranging from mild rashes to severe and lasting eczema and malignant skin cancers.

Current Events The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe won a victory on Sunday in its battle to block the oil pipeline being built near its reservation when the Department of the Army announced that it would not allow the pipeline to be drilled under a dammed section of the Missouri River. The Army said it would look for alternative routes for the $3.7 billion Dakota Access pipeline. “The best way to complete that work responsibly and expeditiously is to explore alternate routes for the pipeline crossing,” Jo-Ellen Darcy, the Army’s assistant secretary for civil works, said in a statement. This move has the potential to block the pipeline’s construction for months or years.

Dakota Rerouting

Dakota Access Pipeline denial The army is deciding not to continue with the project and to temporarily halt the procedure. In a statement, the Army's Assistant Secretary for Civil Work, Jo-Ellen Darcy, said that the easement that would have allowed the pipeline to cross under Lake Oahe will not be approved. Darcy said the decision was based on a need to explore alternative routes for the pipeline crossing. Lake Oahe is a reservoir formed by a dam on the Missouri River.

Sources http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/dakota-access-pipeline-protests- water_us_57d85a51e4b0aa4b722d12b1 http://www.businessinsider.com/north-dakota-access-pipeline-protest-drinking- water-2016-10 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dakota_Access_Pipeline# http://www.daplpipelinefacts.com http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/04/us/federal-officials-to-explore-different-route- for-dakota-pipeline.html http://patch.com/us/across-america/dakota-access-pipeline-army-deny-current- route