Dakota pipeline protest brings hundreds to streets of SF
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (KTVU) - Hundreds of people marched through the streets of San Francisco Tuesday morning as part of a nationwide protest against the Dakota Access oil pipeline.
The rally was one of 200 organized across the country around Army Corps of Engineers offices, federal buildings and banks that have helped finance the project.
Pipeline opponents are seeking to draw the attention of President Barack Obama and get his administration to reject a crossing at a Missouri River reservoir in southern North Dakota. On Monday, the Army Corps said it had completed its review of the disputed pipeline but wanted more study and input from tribes before announcing its support for the crossing.
Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners obtained federal permits for the $3.8 billion pipeline in July, two years after it was first announced.
The pipeline would carry a half-million barrels of crude oil daily from western North Dakota's oil fields through South Dakota and Iowa to an existing pipeline in Patoka, Illinois, where shippers can access Midwest and Gulf Coast markets.
Supporters say the pipeline would create more markets and reduce truck and oil train traffic.
But the Standing Rock Sioux, other tribes and environmental groups say that the pipeline could threaten water supplies for millions, since it will cross the Missouri River, as well as harm sacred sites and artifacts.
Since April, tribal protests have grown considerably at the confluence of the Cannonball and Missouri rivers. Nearly 500 have been arrested, including Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Chairman David Archambault II, as the protest has grown in size.
The Standing Rock Sioux, whose reservation straddles the North Dakota-South Dakota border, are suing federal regulators for approving the oil pipeline. They have challenged the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' decision to grant permits at more than 200 water crossings and argue that the pipeline would be placed less than a mile upstream of the reservation, potentially affecting drinking water for more than 8,000 tribal members and millions downstream.
The tribe hasn't fared well in court so far. A federal judge in September denied its request to block construction of the entire pipeline and an appeal is pending in federal court.
A United Nations group that represents indigenous people around the world says the U.S. government appears to be ignoring the treaty rights and human rights of American Indians opposing the pipeline.
The statement is from the U.N. Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. It came after forum member Edward John spent three days at a camp in North Dakota that's drawn hundreds of protesters. John said he met with both protesters and law officers, and that he found a "war zone" atmosphere.