Outskirts of Dakota Pipeline
Protest Camp, Cannon Ball, ND
(Dakota National Guard Photo)
WASHINGTON/HOUSTON
(Reuters) – The U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers will grant the final easement needed to finish the controversial
Dakota Access Pipeline, according to a court filing Tuesday.
The
line had been delayed for several months after protests from Native American
tribes and climate activists. The $3.8 billion line, which is being built by Energy Transfer Partners
The Standing Rock Sioux tribe,
whose reservation is adjacent to the line's route, has said they will fight the
decision. The Army Corps had previously stated that they would
undertake further environmental review of the project. The tribe was not
immediately available for comment.
The
1,170-mile (1,885 km) line will bring crude oil from North Dakota's Bakken
shale region to Patoka, Illinois, and from there connect to the Gulf of Mexico,
where many U.S. refineries are located. The tribe had fought the line for
months, fearing contamination of their drinking water and damage to sacred
sites on their land.
Numerous
activists who have been protesting in North Dakota have vowed to stay, although
the primary protest camp is located on a flood plain on Army Corps land and is
in the process of being cleared.
Their
protests, along with those of climate activists, resulted in the Obama
administration's decision to delay a final permit that would allow construction
under the Missouri River.
FYI
– and directly (or possibly not) related to this “deal.”
Trump's
most recent financial disclosure form said he owned between $15,000 and $50,000
of Energy Transfer Partners' (ETP) stock. Any sale must have taken place since
then. Related story here.
Trump
spokeswoman Hope Hicks did not say whether he also sold his shares of Phillips
66, which has a smaller investment in the same ETP project.
ETP
CEO, Kelcy Warren, gave $100,000 to Trump's joint fundraising effort with the
Republican Party, according to FEC records Hope Hicks said that donation would
not affect Trump's decision making when he takes office (I note: Santa Claus,
Easter Bunny, and Tooth Fairy analogy come into focus right about now, too – if
you believe that BS – but the issue is “how do we know for sure”).
Late
in November 2016 The
Washington Post reported that Trump had sold off his ETP stake.
But, here are three absolutes as we deal
with this issue as well as the “not ban, ban” and other critical government business:
1. Donald Trump lies about most anything
factually. He denies most everything documented he has said. He relies on
rumors and conspiracies more than anything.
2. Paul Ryan ignores the truth or anything
regarding questions about Trump lies when asked as he dances around any media question
in that regard.
3. Mitch McConnell can’t even spell the word “truth”
let alone know what it means.
Time
will tell. But one thing is clear: Those three make up the GOP “leadership”
right now, and they simply can’t be trusted or believed about most anything.
As
I always say – stay tuned.
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