Guest post by David Middleton
Dakota Access Protest Backfires For Standing Rock
By Irina Slav – Feb 22, 2017
The months-long protests against the Dakota Access oil pipeline project has seriously hurt the revenues of a casino operated by the Standing Rock Sioux tribe – the tribe that initiated the protests as a portion of the DAPL will pass through its territory.
The casino is facing a shortfall of US$6 million, in part because the protests blocked the main road leading customers from towns in the area to the complex, according to tribal officials involved in running the business. The casino funds social programs across the Standing Rock territory and the shortfall is certain to be felt in the community.
Despite the tribe’s best efforts and the help of other Native American tribes and environmental groups, the Dakota Access got the go-ahead from the White House earlier this month after President Trump signed an executive order allowing the US$3.8-billion project to proceed. The U.S. Army agreed to issue the final permit for the project, allowing construction to start.
[…]
Irony #1
Hoisted by their own petard
Life is pretty rough on the Standing Rock Reservation:
Life on the Reservation: The main economic activities on the Standing Rock Reservation are cattle ranching and farming. The Tribe has established various industries including a fairly successful casino and some light industry. Despite these efforts to establish greater economic activity on the Reservation, tribal members still face high unemployment and poverty. As a matter of principle, the Standing Rock tribes never complied with the Indian Reorganization Act of 1935 and therefore do not receive their full share of government funding. This lack of government dollars, meager per capita income, and high unemployment intensify the housing and health problems on the Reservation. Many residents live in remote areas, far away from medical care and healthy food. Housing, both in remote areas and in towns, is in short supply, forcing many families to live in overcrowded conditions.
Since they refused to comply with the Indian Reorganization Act, they don’t receive “their full share of government funding.” One of the few economic bright spots for the tribes was the construction of two casinos. Government and tribal enterprises, which include the casinos, account for 59% of the jobs and 88% of the income on the reservation.
FEBRUARY 21, 2017
Revenue declines at Standing Rock Sioux casino
BISMARCK, N.D.The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe is facing a budget shortfall of nearly $6 million due to declining revenue at its casino.Tribal leaders say a slowing economy and a snowy winter contributed to losses at the Prairie Knights Casino. Also, the closure of the casino’s main access road due to the oil pipeline protest hurt the facility’s bottom line.
“It’s like it’s fallen off a cliff,” said tribal financial officer Jerome Long Bottom. “When the bridge was shut off, the numbers just plummeted.”
Long Bottom said the tribe will face some tough choices in the months ahead on what to fund. The casino’s turnaround depends on how quickly Highway 1806 is reopened and how long it takes to entice customers to return, The Bismarck Tribune (http://bit.ly/2m7SXFU) reported.
“I don’t know how bad the perception is,” Long Bottom said, unsure how closely people associate controversy over the Dakota Access crude oil pipeline with the casino.
Concert and visitor attendance at the casino are down over the past several months, general manager E.J. Iron Eyes said.
[…]
The Standing Rock Sioux initiated the protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL).
8/22/16
Protesters help block the construction sites at Cannon Ball, North Dakota. The protests are led by the Standing Rock Sioux, who say their drinking water is immediately threatened by the pipeline. Tribal members from numerous tribes turn up in support. With protest numbers increasing to the thousands, Greg Wilz, division director of homeland security, orders the removal of state-owned water tanks and trailers that had been providing protest camps with drinking water. During a court hearing, pipeline officials claim the project is already 48 percent complete.
The Standing Rock Sioux’s protest crippled the Standing Rock Sioux’s economy.
Irony #2
The Water Protectors caused the threat to the Standing Rock water supply.
Back in July 2016, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) issued its preliminary approval for the pipeline’s water crossings…
Question: When was the Final Environmental Assessment for the Missouri River Crossings of the Dakota Access Pipeline released to the public?
Answer: The Finding of No Significant Impact and Final Environmental Assessments were signed and released to the public the week of July 25, 2016.
The approvals were based on civil engineering principles.
In September, a Federal judge “denied the tribe’s request to block construction of the entire pipeline.” This is when the Obama maladministration, with absolutely no engineering basis, decided “that further analysis was warranted given the tribe’s concerns.”
Then in November, the Department of the Army overrode USACE because they felt bad about how the Sioux were treated in the 1800’s…
Washington, D.C. — Today, the Army informed the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, Energy Transfer Partners, and Dakota Access, LLC, that it has completed the review that it launched on September 9, 2016. The Army has determined that additional discussion and analysis are warranted in light of the history of the Great Sioux Nation’s dispossessions of lands, the importance of Lake Oahe to the Tribe, our government-to-government relationship, and the statute governing easements through government property.
While the U.S. government was assisting the Water Protectors, the Water Protectors created the only genuine threat to their water supply…
Standing Rock Protest Camp, Once Home to Thousands, Is Razed
By MITCH SMITH FEB. 23, 2017
MANDAN, N.D. — The final holdouts at the sprawling pipeline protest camp south of here were arrested Thursday, and the authorities began using heavy equipment to tear down the remaining structures and clear debris on the federally owned land where thousands had lived in recent months.
The arrests, of 46 people, came a day after an evacuation deadline issued by Gov. Doug Burgum. Most protesters left Wednesday of their own volition, and others departed Thursday by crossing the frozen Cannonball River to the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. Those who remained at the main campsite were taken into custody.
[…]
The North Dakota authorities said the closing of the main protest camp, which sits on Army Corps of Engineers land, was necessary to prevent pollution during imminent spring floods. The protest site had developed into a make-do city, with semipermanent buildings, medical tents and abandoned cars. If that washed into the Missouri River, the authorities said, the results could be damaging to the environment.
“I think you can see the enormous accumulation of garbage and human waste that’s been piled up down there,” Mr. Burgum said, citing observations from social media videos.
[…]
The protest against a mythical threat to the Standing Rock water supply created a genuine threat to the Standing Rock water supply.
Irony #3
DAPL didn’t cross Indian lands; it followed an existing pipeline route.
The pipeline doesn’t cross Standing Rock Sioux or any other Indian lands.
The alleged “sacred burial grounds” are on private property…
Sacred Burial Ground Sold to Dakota Access
ICTMN Staff
9/23/16
Cannonball Ranch in North Dakota has been sold to Dakota Access LLC. The ranch is not the site of the Standing Rock Camp where protectors are taking a stand against the Dakota Access pipeline, but the ranch has hundreds of burials and artifacts.
[…]
Read more at http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwor…-access-165888
The DAPL follows the route of an existing natural gas pipeline…
Surprise: Dakota Access Pipeline Follows Existing Gas Line Through Protested Area
Conclusion
In the most ironic irony of all, the Promise Keeper defeated the Water Protectors with the stroke of a pen and…
“Back in July 2016, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) issued its preliminary approval for the pipeline’s water crossings…
Question: When was the Final Environmental Assessment for the Missouri River Crossings of the Dakota Access Pipeline released to the public?
Answer: The Finding of No Significant Impact and Final Environmental Assessments were signed and released to the public the week of July 25, 2016.
USACE
The approvals were based on civil engineering principles.”
…
Then in November, the Department of the Army overrode USACE because they felt bad about how the Sioux were treated in the 1800’s…
Washington, D.C. — Today, the Army informed the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, Energy Transfer Partners, and Dakota Access, LLC, that it has completed the review that it launched on September 9, 2016. The Army has determined that additional discussion and analysis are warranted in light of the history of the Great Sioux Nation’s dispossessions of lands, the importance of Lake Oahe to the Tribe, our government-to-government relationship, and the statute governing easements through government property.
US Army
So…did the authors of the USACE report, and the USACE superiors who approved it resign their commissions? If they lack the “principles” to do that, how can one believe that their report was based on “engineering principles” and not on the expected election outcome as of July?
Can a honest man serve a crooked master? Another irony there, I think?
Why would they “resign their commissions?” The Dept. of the Army (AKA Obama) overrode their permit approvals a week after the election. Once Trump took office, it was highly likely that Obama’s malfeasance would be undone.
The USACE approval was issued in July. It was the result of a very long process. Furthermore, the “expected election outcome as of July” was a Clinton victory.
My bad. Of course, the “Dept. of the Army” would be turfed out by the new administration, and so all the USACE had to do was swallow their pride and wait for vindication. But if the Department of the Army is nothing but a hand puppet of the President, as you suggest, then it shouldn’t be long before the USACE’s engineering principles get trumped again.
Why would that happen? Trump is about getting infrastructure built, not obstructing it
Professional civil engineering requires licensed engineers to sign off and assume legal responsibilities for their work. Unlike political appointees, professional engineers’ decisions carry civil and criminal liability. If they had been ordered to approve the permits after rejecting them, they would have had a professional obligation to resign in protest.
David Middleton wrote
March 4, 2017 at 5:17 am
“Why would that happen? Trump is about getting infrastructure built, not obstructing it “.
So any idea that Trump decides to implement will just automatically comply with “engineering principles”? Or is it that, because he’s a man of principle himself, unlike his predecessor (as you suggest), he would never, ever command the Dept. of the Army to overrule the USACE?
As a Canadian, I’m simply skeptical about reports of principles among polticians . But I guess I should tread carefully since “integrity denial” could follow closely on the heels of “climate, holocaust, or you name it” denial in criminal law. In parts of the muslim world, it’s already a capital offense, deceptively called “blasphemy”.
Your ignorance of professional engineering is understandable; but, do you not know how to read a calendar?
The USACE report was completed in July 2016… 3 months before Trump was elected, 6 months before he took office.
David Middleton
March 4, 2017 at 4:18 pm wrote:
“Your ignorance of professional engineering is understandable; but, do you not know how to read a calendar?”
I don’t know why or even how my alleged ignorance of professional engineering would be “understandable”. But at least I understand vernacular English. Apparently you don’t. “My bad”=”sorry, my mistake, etc.” Why don’t you address the meat of my argument instead of beating the bun to death?
Your “argument” lacks any “meat.” Get a calendar and learn how to read it. The professional engineers of USACE approved the water crossings in July 2016. The Obama maladministration revoked those permits for political reasons in November 2016. Trump reversed Obama’s malfeasance in January 2017.
The only step in this sequence based on civil engineering principles was the USACE approval of rhe water crossings in July 2016.
Had USACE rejected the water crossings and then ordered to reverse their decision for political reasons, they would have had a professional obligation to refuse to comply.
Are casinos really the best thing that native Americans can do for America and its economy? – Fleecing hard working but gullible people out of money they can ill-afford to lose?? Perhaps they can start a new line in Ponzie schemes, and fake designer goods….
R
If you’ve ever been to an “Indian” casino, you won’t see very many actually working there.
I was, except a visit with a school class, never in a casino. Because I know that only the bank wins. And I can not stand it.
True that.
Swinerton completes Yakama Legends Casino expansion with new Hotel — Link
Note the date: March 03, 2017
Meant as a response to “ralfellis” just above.
This site on the Yakama Res has the best RV “camping”/stop/resort (whatever) within a very large area.
Sounds like Social Security… 😉
I was replying to this…
Sigh.
It is not hoisted.
It is an older expression “hoist on your own petard”, which means blown up by your own bomb.
It was in reference to an old form of an IED, intended to breach the wall of a castle. I think it was packed with gunpowder.
It’s a paraphrase of Shakespeare.
Since we have a post about pipelines that includes a picture of a segment of TAPS:
http://www.amusingplanet.com/2014/08/how-trans-alaska-pipeline-survived-2002.html
https://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/geotech/denaliposter/pipeline.html
https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2003/fs014-03/pipeline.html
The Oil Price article included the stock photo of TAPS. This post is about the subject of the Oil Price article, not the stock photo of TAPS.
The natives (Indians, whatever) have benefited from a reverse mythology since about the 1960s. Before then the cavalry would suddenly show up from the right side of the TV screen at abnormal gallop with clarion trumpet and flag flying to save the wagon train and oust the murderous Indian tribe.
Then came the guilt narrative and the feel-so-sorry-for-the-noble-Indian. Soon the new mythology of ‘First Nations’, ‘natural Mother-earth lovers’, and ‘deep eco-spiritualists’. Now they play it very successfully – nowhere is it mentioned the bloodthirsty Aztecs, the tyrannical Incas, the jungle-destroying Mayans, the terroristic Iroquois, the ravaging Sioux, the slave-owning Haida etc.
In reality they are a mixed bag but mainly a stone-age people suddenly confronted with mainly cruel and inept Europeans whose much more humane descendants have provided modern medicine, technology, democratic norms and real environmental competence. But narratives have too much of a hold on them and is such a useful political tool.
@Patrick above “The natives (Indians, whatever)”
Note my comment above the (central Washington State) Yakama Res — they refer to themselves as “indians” and their many web sites use the word.
I am just stunned by the fact that nobody on the environmental side don’t realize the fact that everything we do on a daily basis depends on pipelines,
Sewer comes to mind.
So these friends of the earth didn’t clean up after themselves and just left all their stuff behind for some civic-minded nobodies to clean up?
Or get washed into the Missouri River.
The tribe says it will spend some of the $12 million+ raised in a few months of protest to move the garbage to the Morton County landfill. https://www.sayanythingblog.com/entry/nodapl-activist-raised-least-11-2-million-protests-285-different-online-accounts/
The most important missing irony is that Standing Rock’s water intake was moved some time ago to Mobridge, SD 125km south of the proposed pipeline crossing. They got $40 million in 2009 for a completely new water system which has been virtually completed before the “water protectors” bogus protest began. The 60yr old intake (which has long been a problem with low water levels) was to be shut off by now.
https://www.facebook.com/notes/scott-gates/on-the-standing-rock-tribes-dakota-pipeline-protest-/10154529600627457
“The Promise Keeper”… Ah…HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!
Of the 60 campaign promises being tracked by the WaPo Fact Checker, Trump has already launched initiatives to deliver on 15 of those promises. The one promise rated as “broken” is very subjective. Expedited approval of critical infrastructure projects, like DAPL, is one of the kept promises…
David Middleton
March 6, 2017 at 3:56 am wrote:
“Your “argument” lacks any “meat.” Get a calendar and learn how to read it. The professional engineers of USACE approved the water crossings in July 2016. The Obama maladministration revoked those permits for political reasons in November 2016. Trump reversed Obama’s malfeasance in January 2017.”
The substance of my argument is the absurdity of your contention that:
a) Army engineers are guided solely by principles, whereas higher army brass, who appoint and supervise, reassign, and retire them, are mere puppets of the White House, and
b) whereas Obama’s directives are solely based on political considerations, those of Trump would NEVER be.
OTROPOGO: “if the Department of the Army is nothing but a hand puppet of the President, as you suggest, then it shouldn’t be long before the USACE’s engineering principles get trumped again.”
David Middleton:”Why would that happen? Trump is about getting infrastructure built, not obstructing it”
The calendar has nothing to do with this. But perhaps you’re suffering from senile dementia, in which case, I apologize for disturbing your reverie…
The calendar has everything to do with it.
The USACE approval of the water crossings was made in July 2016. It is a civil engineering report.
The political decisions to revoke and then restore the approval were made in November and January. These were based on Obama’s desire to block the completion of the pipeline because he felt bad about how the Sioux had been treated in the 1800’s and Trump’s desire to expedite the construction of critical infrastructure.
This really is very simple. The only step in this sequence based on civil engineering principles was the USACE FONSI.
The FONSI was signed by Col. John Henderson, P.E., United States Army, US Army Corps of Engineers. The “P.E.” after his name stands for “professional engineer.” It means he is licensed. If he was to sign off on a project in a negligent manner or on a fraudulent basis, he would risk losing his license and possibly be in legal trouble.
The Army official who overrode the USACE approval was Obama crony, Jo-Ellen Darcy…
Despite the fact that Ms. Darcy had no engineering qualifications, what-so-ever, or any functional experience in anything useful to society, Obama appointed her the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works).
The lies continue, for in truth us it not all indigenous peoples land- yes it ia- is it not all stolen land , now, no matter the painting if , recognized past treaties, – to remember the atrocity committed by those colonists and settlers, the murders bloodshed, also- are we not aware of the fact we have always and will always have alternatives to oil- so might the truth of the oil industry be revealed to all, Ms.or Mrs.Slav- I do not see the purpose of your article in full, the associations , your words seem to support the oil industry.You support the oil industry don’t you..Burial Grounds, ..Is not oil made from deceased beings, compressed carbon, is it not obvious that an entity who murdered enforced slave labor, poisoned and drugged indigneous inhabitants, raped and raped and raped and raped and raped and raped so many murdered and murdered so many- Ms. Or Mrs. Slav- do you know how many children, babes, were murdered , mutilated then, throughout U.S. hiistory,- not yet mentioned in textbooks and indeed – COVERED UP MASKED PAINTED OVER – Do you recognize the great virtue patience , reason,diplomacy , wisdom of the Tribes, in face of all that had been and still is committed against the indigenous descendants, not only on the “North American Continent” but around the globe.? Oh Me.Slab.I pray for you, I pray for the children you may or may not or will have.I pray for all mankind to be saved, I pray for the upliftment of humanity!! Truth!! This continent in its entirety is scattered with burial grounds, – indeed I imagine many murdered time ago were not even buried by their oppressors , .This Continent is covered in blood, cemented and tarred over, Will it take such divine proportions as roots cracking your cemented pavements and tarred streets, Tornados,Hurricanes, Individual lightning strikes upon the wicked and the wickeds supporters on the face , underneath, anywhere on this earth- space station ,”moon. Vacations”, Billion dollar ski slopes built for luxurious enjoyment, when there are so many that had been made poor by such industry, business, and its propagation– I pray for your souls , – that you all find salvation, In TRUTH, and redeem yourselves- I pray for you, Donald (Drumpf) Trump, in your own words you may still,”Turn it around” and I pray YOU All ACCEPT And Subscribe to Truth, for the sake of all, and CEASE DENIAL, for the sake of “posterity” – such denial and action , curses your children continually-“TURN IT AROUND”. We do NOT , Do NOT , need , oil, .Let us stop such “senseless sacrifice” and evil.
a) Army engineers are guided solely by principles, whereas higher army brass, who appoint and supervise, reassign, and retire them, are mere puppets of the White House,
Principles such as greed and supremacy?
Clearly they are not guided by Morality or Truth.
Good parody of a Social Justice Warrior. Or are you actually serious?
The mass loss due to plagues of the American population would have happened if a sufficiently large enough group of Buddhist monks has reached the Americas, larger enough to expose the population to the Afro-Eurasian disease environment.
As someone who is part Mexican mestizo, some of my ancestors were right proper yahoos who did not share my sense of morality. It does not matter whether they were Indian or Spanish–human sacrifice is as reprehensible as the Inquisition.
Get a life.