Members of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, activists, and concerned citizens, who had camped out for months to protest the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) secured a rare victory over the forces of environmental degradation over the weekend.
The Army Corps of Engineers decided on Sunday not to grant easement for Energy Transfer Partners to complete construction of its $3.7 billion pipeline.
The corps said it would embark on a new study to look for alternative routes for the pipeline—a process that could take months or even years, according to the New York Times. With a Trump presidency looming, however, no environmental wins can be considered lasting.
Since August, thousands of self-identified “water protectors” had descended onto tribal lands to confront construction crews attempting to complete the final portion of the pipeline. Their peaceful occupation came under brutal assault from local authorities and private security contractors, who relied on chemical agents, water cannons, attack dogs, and rubber bullets to suppress the protest.
Although the Army Corps had originally approved the project in July, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe argued that their indigenous rights were not respected during the permitting process. The tribe stated that the pipeline’s route crossed over sites long sacred to the tribe, and a portion of the Missouri River that threatened their water supplies.
The Obama administration had publicly taken a wait-and-see approach to resolving the standoff. But as confrontations in North Dakota grew fiercer, the White House announced it would reexamine its approval for DAPL. It was then reported last month that the Army Corps was considering alternative routes for the project.
Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Chairman David Archambault III on Sunday expressed the “utmost gratitude” to President Obama, the Departments of Justice and Interior, and the US Army Corps of Engineers. He added in a statement that “it took tremendous courage to take a new approach to our nation-to-nation relations, and we will be forever grateful.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), a longtime supporter of the agitation at Standing Rock, took to Twitter after the announcement.
“In 2016, we should not continue to trample on Native American sovereignty. And we should not become more dependent on fossil fuels,” he said.
But the company seeking to build the pipeline, and political opponents of President Obama, were aghast at the decision, and promised to continue the fight when President-elect Donald Trump takes the oath of office in January.
“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 by an administration which has abandoned the rule of law in favor of currying favor with a narrow and extreme political constituency,” the company said in a statement.
Rep. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) claimed that halting construction of the pipeline rewarded the “criminal behavior” of the protestors.
“I can’t wait for the adults to be in charge on January 20,” Cramer added, referring to Trump’s inauguration.
The congressman’s words were echoed by the pipeline industry group, MAIN Coalition. In a statement to the New York Times, the group’s spokesman Craig Stevens said that with “President-Elect Trump set to take office in 47 days, we are hopeful that this is not the final word on the Dakota Access pipeline.”
A new Trump administration could reverse the Army Corps’ decision, and order completion of the pipeline on its original route, buffering Standing Rock lands.
Trump personally owns a stake in Energy Transfer Partners, and would financially benefit from completion of the Dakota Access Pipeline.
The water protectors are aware of the threat posed by the incoming administration, and many are committed to sticking out the harsh winter in their teepees and tents to ensure that their gains aren’t squandered when President Obama leaves office.
