West River Eagle

Presidential memorandum dampens hopes to defeat DAPL




In a Memorandum for the Secretary of the Army pertaining to the “Construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline’ sent Jan. 24, 2017, President Donald J. Trump called for the “Secretary of the Army” to “instruct the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), including the Commanding General and Chief of Engineers, to take all actions necessary and appropriate to: 




(i)    review and approve in an expedited manner, to the extent permitted by law and as warranted, and with such conditions as are necessary or appropriate, requests for approvals to construct and operate the DAPL, including easements or rights-of-way to cross Federal areas under section 28 of the Mineral Leasing Act, as amended, 30 U.S.C. 185; permits or approvals under section 404 of the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 1344; permits or approvals under section 14 of the Rivers and Harbors Act, 33 U.S.C. 408; and such other Federal approvals as may be necessary; 


(ii)    consider, to the extent permitted by law and as warranted, whether to rescind or modify the memorandum by the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works dated December 4, 2016 (Proposed Dakota Access Pipeline Crossing at Lake Oahe, North Dakota), and whether to withdraw the Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement in Connection with Dakota Access, LLC’s Request for an Easement to Cross Lake Oahe, North Dakota, dated January 18, 2017, and published at 82 Fed. Reg. 5543; 


(iii)    consider, to the extent permitted by law and as warranted, prior reviews and determinations, including the Environmental Assessment issued in July of 2016 2 for the DAPL, as satisfying all applicable requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq., and any other provision of law that requires executive agency consultation or review (including the consultation or review required under section 7(a) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, 16 U.S.C. 1536(a)); 


(iv)    review and grant, to the extent permitted by law and as warranted, requests for waivers of notice periods arising from or related to USACE real estate policies and regulations; and 


(v)    issue, to the extent permitted by law and as warranted, any approved easements or rights-of-way immediately after notice is provided to the Congress pursuant to section 28(w) of the Mineral Leasing Act, as amended, 30 U.S.C. 185(w).”




This memorandum encourages the Army Corps of Engineers to accept the July 2016 Environmental Assessment conducted in relation to the building of DAPL under the Missouri River north of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. 


“The United States Constitution declares that treaties with Indian tribes are the Supreme Law of the Land. President Trump cannot steamroll over the Constitution and out treaties. Not to mention the Corps’ own policies requiring consultation with affected tribes,” said Cheyenne-River Sioux Tribe Chairman Harold Frazier. 


This memorandum could end the Environmental Impact Assessment that the Army Corps of Engineers said they would conduct to consider the impact of potential leaks on the current tribal lands and treaty lands, as well as consider alternate routes for the pipeline that do not involve crossing the Missouri River, a major water source from millions of Americans. 


Trump’s memorandum indicates that he believes “that construction and operation of lawfully permitted pipeline infrastructure serve the national interest.”


“It means we have a lot more work to do,” said Remi Beautiful Bald Eagle, CRST Intergovernmental Affairs Spokesperson. 


“We were hoping for an open dialogue allowing us to sit down and discuss [pipeline construction] with us,” Bald Eagle said, but with this memorandum, the Environmental Impact Assessment and the process of including tribal representatives and their concerns and interests in the approval process may go to the wayside.


“In the next six months, I see tribal governments forming a unified front and the sleeping giant of the movement waking up and understanding what it [the construction of the pipeline] means to everybody,” Bald Eagle said. 


“If the past has any indication, they [pipeline companies] are fully prepared to do anything legally or illegally to get it done,” Bald Eagle said. “It’s like the second coming of the railroad.”


Chairman Frazier made plans to lead a rally on the steps of the South Dakota Capital in at 11:00 a.m. on Wed., Jan. 25 to raise awareness of tribal concerns and environmental concerns. 


“We don’t want South Dakota to be like Michigan,” Bald Eagle said. 



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