Environment

Victory! Final Dakota Access permit denied

On Sunday, the Army Corps of Engineers denied the final permit for the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline. The Army Corps will be exploring alternate routes, and preparing an Environmental Impact Statement that could delay the pipeline for months, or years.

The Standing Rock Youth have been campaigning for an outcome like this since April of this year, and in the words of Tokata Iron Eyes, many feel like they “have their future back.” Watch Tokata react to the news here.

While this is an enormous win for the campaign, the youth are clear that their work isn’t over yet. The pipeline is still likely to be built, and there are many ways in which Dakota Access LLC or incoming president Donald Trump could reverse this decision and try to direct it through the Missouri River again. While they are celebrating, the youth also fear that this is just a pause on the project.

They are committed to staying vigilant, and are asking signers to continue “showing the banks, the oil industry, and the U.S. government that it is not worth their energy to push this pipeline through when so many hundreds of thousands of people are opposed to it.”

“We’re declaring victory for now,” they said in an email to signers, “But are prepared to re-open the petition if we feel that our water is under threat again. We will keep you updated as we follow pipeline plans closely.”

Meanwhile, there are many other projects like the Dakota Access Pipeline that some Change.org users are campaigning to stop. You can take a minute to click “follow” on this movement page if you’d like to stay updated on how you can join communities in Florida, Arkansas, Texas and other states in standing up to oil projects.

 

Written by
Communications at Change.org
December 5, 2016 9:35 am