Dakota Access Pipeline Rerouted

Kieran Hogan, Reporter

The US Army Corps of Engineers has officially denied a grant that would allow the Dakota Access Pipeline to continue construction past the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in North Dakota, according to NPR News. The move comes just days after more than two thousand veterans travelled to the construction site to join the protests, forcing the company to halt their work.

Jo-Ellen Darcy, the Army Corps assistant secretary for civil works, said in her statement on Sunday that, “The best way to complete that work responsibly and expeditiously is to explore alternative routes for the pipeline crossing.”

Over the last four months, constant protests have been the scene at Standing Rock. The people trying to protect their water source have been subject to mace, water cannons, concussion grenades, sound cannons, and attacks by police dogs.

And after all that, the protesters are still not giving in. “It’s not over. It’s never over,” said a Standing Rock member, according to USA Today.   

The Energy Transfer Partners, owner of the pipeline, has released a statement saying they are “fully committed to ensuring that this vital project is brought to completion and fully expect to complete construction of the pipeline without any additional rerouting in and around Lake Oahe. Nothing this Administration has done today changes that in any way.”

Dallas Goldtooth from the Indigenous Environmental Network says, “This is a victory for organizing, and it doesn’t stop now. We are asking our supporters to keep up the pressure, because while President Obama has granted us a victory today, that victory isn’t guaranteed in the next administration. More threats are likely in the year to come, and we cannot stop until this pipeline is completely and utterly defeated, and our water and climate are safe.”