Addressing Misconceptions About The Dakota Access Pipeline
T
here
are a number of misconceptions and myths about the Dakota Access
Pipeline Project. Unfortunately, a number of media outlets, bloggers,
opinion writers, and social media accounts have spread a number of
similar misconceptions. Here are the facts.
The Dakota Access
is one of the most technologically advanced and safest pipelines ever
built. It is entirely underground and surpasses federal safety
requirements.
The pipeline does not encroach or cross any land owned by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.
The
Dakota Access Pipeline is entirely underground and will cross under
Lake Oahe at a minimum depth of 95 feet below the riverbed.
The
Dakota Access Pipeline does not endanger water; the Standing Rock Sioux
water inlet by early 2017 will be moved to a location more than 70 miles
away from the pipeline.
The majority of protesters are not
there to protect water, as they claim, but are actually extremists
opposed to any and all use of fossil fuels.
Notably, by
contrast, rail cars transporting crude oil from wells owned by Native
American Tribes currently cross the Standing Rock Sioux reservation
without objection.
Lake Oahe, the final portion of the pipeline’s path to be constructed is also home to eight pipelines.
Many
of the protesters on-site are not Standing Rock Sioux, but outsiders
with a different more extremist agenda that is simply opposed to the use
of all fossil fuels. They have provoked multiple dangerous and criminal
confrontations with law enforcement, and caused significant damage to
property, which have led local agencies to ask for extra federal help.
Key Facts
The Dakota Access Pipeline does not enter or cross the Standing Rock reservation.
The entire Dakota Access Pipeline is buried underground.
The Dakota Access Pipeline is not a threat to the Tribe’s water supply or cultural sites.
Eight other pipelines cross Lake Oahe, including one that has safely operated for more than 30 years.
The
site where the Dakota Access Pipeline crosses the Missouri River is 70
miles from the new water supply inlet for the Standing Rock Sioux.
The
Dakota Access is one of the most technologically advanced and safest
pipelines ever built. It is entirely underground and exceeds federal
safety requirements.
99.98%
of the pipeline is installed on privately owned property in North
Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, and Illinois. The Dakota Access Pipeline
does not enter the Standing Rock Sioux reservation at any point.
The only point at which the pipeline passes through public property
is a small stretch in North Dakota owned by the federal government. That
part of the pipeline consists of 1,094 feet (the length of about three
soccer fields) at Lake Oahe in North Dakota.
In fact, eight pipelines currently pass below Lake Oahe, as well as high-energy electrical systems.
The
Dakota Access Pipeline is built to survive the test of time, extreme
weather, and natural disaster. It uses state-of-the art construction
material, including heavy-walled steel pipe that is nearly 50% thicker
than required by law.
In many instances, construction of DAPL
exceeded legal requirements. Extreme care was taken to choose the safest
possible route for the pipeline. Its route was designed to avoid
earthquake fault lines or other trouble spots. The pipeline will also be
monitored by air on a weekly basis in an effort to detect any possible
trouble.
Numerous studies
have shown that pipelines are safer than shipping oil by trucks or
rail. DAPL will replace 100- to 120-car trains that carry crude oil
every day from North Dakota – greatly reducing the risk of train
accidents and spills.
Eight other pipelines currently run below Lake Oahe. In fact,
existing pipelines have safely transported natural gas beneath Lake Oahe
for more than 30 years. Built in 1982, the existing non-DAPL owned dual
42-inch pipelines are about five feet below the mud floor of Lake Oahe;
the Dakota Access Pipeline will be installed about 95 to 115 feet below
the bottom of Lake Oahe.
No part of the pipeline comes in contact with water from the Missouri River or Lake Oahe.
The Dakota Access Pipeline was approved by regulatory agencies in all
four states where the pipeline will operate. All told, more than 1,000
certificates, permits and approvals were granted for the pipeline –
that’s about one permit or approval for every mile of pipeline.
DAPL was carefully reviewed and approved by environmental and regulatory agencies that include the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission, Illinois Commerce Commission, North Dakota Public Service Commission, Iowa Utilities Board, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The
vast majority of the opposition to the Dakota Access Pipeline – and the
most vocal – comes not from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, but from
several radical, well-funded groups that are opposed to all use of
fossil fuel and who ignore the safety of the pipeline in order to
further their membership and fund-raising efforts.
In developing the route, the United States Army Corps of Engineers alone held 389 meetings with 55 tribes
regarding the Dakota Access project. In addition, the U.S. Army Corps
reached out to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe nearly a dozen times to
discuss archaeological and other surveys conducted before finalizing the
Dakota Access route. Page 40 of the USACE Brief dated 8-18-16.
In conclusion, the cultural resources inventory and
inspection conducted and reported herein yielded no evidence of
infractions to or violations of North Dakota Century Code § 23..06-27
with respect to disturbance of human remains or significant sites.
At no point does the Dakota Access Pipeline pass through the Standing
Rock Sioux reservation, nor does it impact the Tribe’s water supply.
The water inlet for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe will be 70 miles away
by early 2017, when the tribe’s water intake moves to South Dakota.
No part of the pipeline will be installed on the Standing Rock reservation.
The
part of the project that needs the approval of the Army Corps of
Engineers is a sliver of 1,000 feet of federal land – not Standing Rock
land – that is part of its crossing beneath Lake Oahe. This part of the
pipeline would be tunneled using state of the art Horizontal Directional
Drilling (HDD) through soil nearly 100 feet below the bottom of the
lake. This is about 20 times deeper than an existing pipeline that was
installed beneath the same lake in 1982 and has operated safely for about 35 years.
In fact, eight pipelines currently pass below Lake Oahe, as well as one high-energy electrical system.
The Dakota Access Pipeline is an underground pipeline.
The Dakota Access Pipeline is an entirely underground pipeline. Only where there are pump stations or valves of testing stations is there any portion of the pipeline above ground.
The
pipeline is buried nearly 4 feet deep in most areas and in all
agricultural lands, two feet deeper than required by law. The pipeline
will cross at least 95 feet, and at points, up to 115 feet, below the
bottom of Lake Oahe.
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