Standing Rock: is it a win or a temporary pause?

Great question posed within this story running on our main network site at Renewable Now.biz.  To us it looks like a temporary victory.  One that might get overturned quickly as the new administration puts their people in place.

AT RN we have mixed feelings on expanding natural gas production.  Yes, their environmental risk.  But we think that is mitigated by today's better technology, and the shift of energy back to domestic sources is great for jobs and the economy.  Would we prefer all resources go into expanding renewables?  Yes.  But that is not realistic.  Gas will continue to be a significant part of our fuel mix.  Hence, there has to be reasonable regulations, and expectations, around the development of new sources.  As with any project, government cannot choke it to a stand still with burdensome compliance.  Until we stop importing oil and mining coal, natural gas is a viable alternative:

Can the Standing Rock coalition claim victory, or is it just a temporary pause to defuse tensions by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers? On Sunday December 4, the U.S. Army released the following:

"The Department of the Army will not approve an easement that would allow the proposed Dakota Access Pipeline to cross under Lake Oahe in North Dakota, the Army's Assistant Secretary for Civil Works announced today.

Jo-Ellen Darcy said she based her decision on a need to explore alternate routes for the Dakota Access Pipeline crossing. Her office had announced on November 14, 2016 that it was delaying the decision on the easement to allow for discussions with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, whose reservation lies 0.5 miles south of the proposed crossing. Tribal officials have expressed repeated concerns over the risk that a pipeline rupture or spill could pose to its water supply and treaty rights.

"Although we have had continuing discussion and exchanges of new information with the Standing Rock Sioux and Dakota Access, it's clear that there's more work to do," Darcy said. "The best way to complete that work responsibly and expeditiously is to explore alternate routes for the pipeline crossing."

Darcy said that the consideration of alternative routes would be best accomplished through an Environmental Impact Statement with full public input and analysis."

This decision came with many cheering, including actor and long time environmental activist, Mark Rufalo, who said, “Dakota Access Pipeline Denied by Army Corps of Engineers! No win is ever permanent but we can rejoice today because together we created greater justice in the world, we opened the door to heal the old wounds sustained by our indigenous people. President Obama will leave the White House as a great chief of America for this. We must all thank the Native Youth who started this movement who started the camp and ran all over the USA to stop this from happening. It is for them, the unborn and the voiceless that we persist in the struggle. We must also have compassion for the Police who were on the other side of this struggle but are still our brothers and sisters.”

As far as the developer’s concerns, Energy Transfer Partners remained committed to the project without a reroute. "The White House’s directive today to the Corps for further delay is just the latest in a series of overt and transparent political actions," the statement read, "by an administration which has abandoned the rule of law in favor of currying favor with a narrow and extreme political constituency."

We’ll continue to watch how this story evolves it seems that this ultimately will play out in court and what ever decision prevails one side will feel the loss.

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