BISMARCK, N.D. — The Army on Friday formally ended further
environmental study of the Dakota Access oil pipeline's disputed
crossing beneath a Missouri River reservoir in southern North Dakota.
Meanwhile, its Corps of Engineers branch
continued efforts to accelerate cleanup at a protest camp near the
drilling site that's threatened by spring flooding.
The Corps launched the study on Jan. 18 in light of concerns from
the Standing Rock Sioux and other Native American tribes that a pipeline
leak beneath Lake Oahe would pollute drinking water.
President Donald Trump a week later pushed to
advance pipeline construction, and the Army gave Texas-based developer
Energy Transfer Partners permission for the crossing on Feb. 8. Work
quickly began on the final chunk of construction.
Pope Francis insisted on Wednesday at a U.N.
agricultural meeting with representatives of indigenous peoples that
indigenous groups must give prior consent to any economic activities
affecting their ancestral lands. The key, he said, is squaring economic
development with the protection of cultures and territories.
"In this regard, the right to prior and informed
consent should always prevail," he said. "Only then is it possible to
guarantee peaceful cooperation between governing authorities and
indigenous peoples, overcoming confrontation and conflict."
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Source: NBC News
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