FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEJan.
24, 2017
Trump Executive Order on DAPL violates law and tribal treaties
The decision puts water for 17 million people at risk
Cannon Ball, N.D.The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe said today that President Donald Trumps
executive action towards an approval of an easement for the Dakota Access Pipeline risks
contaminating tribal and American water supplies while disregarding treaty rights. The Trump
administrations politically motivated decision violates the law and the Tribe will take legal action
to fight it.
President Trump is legally required to honor our treaty rights and provide a fair and reasonable
pipeline process, said Dave Archambault II, chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.
Americans know this pipeline was unfairly rerouted towards our nation and without our consent.
The existing pipeline route risks infringing on our treaty rights, contaminating our water and the
water of 17 million Americans downstream.
The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers rejected DAPL's request for an easement late last year,
finding that the agency had failed to fully consider the impacts of the pipeline on the Standing
Rock Sioux Tribe. The Department of the Army pledged to conduct a full environmental review
of the Missouri River crossing and evaluate alternative sites, which would not put the Tribe at
risk of an oil spill. However, that environmental review would be circumvented under today's
Executive Order, allowing the project to immediately resume construction.
Trumps press secretary said on Monday that Trump intended to approve the easement with an
aim towards job creation. But tribal leaders note the bulk of pipeline jobs are in pipeline
construction. The pipeline only creates a total of 15 permanent jobs in North Dakota. A reroute
would protect the Tribes water and create hundreds of jobs, Archambault said.
Standing Rock said its not a matter of if, but when DAPL will leak. Sunoco, one of the American
companies operating DAPL, has a poor record on pipeline safety and spill prevention. Data from
the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, show operators have reported
about 200 crude oil spills per year, on average. More than 176,000 gallons of oil spilled in
western North Dakota last month alone.
Archambault said Trumps decision appears to be a political payback. By granting the
easement, Trump is risking our treaty rights and water supply to benefit his wealthy contributors
and friends at DAPL, he said. We are not opposed to energy independence. We are opposed
to reckless and politically motivated development projects, like DAPL, that ignore our treaty
rights and risk our water. Creating a second Flint does not make America great again.
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Contact:
Chelsea Hawkins
chawkins@pyramidcommunications.com
206.556.1653
Sue Evans
sevans@pyramidcommunications.com
253.592.1590
