Obama Will Reportedly Approve Dakota Access Pipeline

President Barack Obama’s administration is expected to approve construction to complete the Dakota Access Pipeline as early as November 14, despite opposition from climate change activists and Native Americans across the country.

If approved, the pipeline would traverse the Missouri River near the Standing Rock Sioux reservation in North Dakota, where protestors have stood for months to oppose the project, saying that it will pollute the reservation’s water and will desecrate sacred land, notes Politico.

“As a practical matter, pipeline construction in the state of North Dakota is complete except for the crossing beneath the Missouri River at Lake Oahe,” Dakota Access LLC, the company building the pipeline, said in a November 11 statement, according to Politico.

The company said that it “repeatedly” told the Army Corps of Engineers, who are building the pipeline, that it would halt the project for “a reasonable time period” as long as it is able to complete it.

“We now wish to reiterate — publicly — that Dakota Access shares the safety concerns of the Corps and is prepared to suspend activities at the site if Dakota Access and the Corps can agree upon a date certain upon which we can complete construction” in Standing Rock, Dakota Access LLC added.

Protesters have continuously urged the Obama administration to delay the project indefinitely, and upcoming protests planned for November 15 could delay the announcement over fears that the demonstrations could become uncivil, sources said.

Completion of the $3.7 billion project, which, if completed as planned, will run 1,172 miles from North Dakota to Illinois, halted in September amid protests, while government officials worked to determine whether the Corps had sufficient permits to build on the federal land, notes Reuters.

Nearly 40 protesters were arrested during November 11 protests at Standing Rock, where more than 100 activists demonstrated while awaiting the official decision.

“The tribe continues to ask water protectors to remain peaceful and prayerful,” Standing Rock Sioux spokeswoman Chelsea Hawkins said on November 11, notes Reuters.

​Sources: Politico, Reuters / Photo Credit: justifiedgaines/Instagram