Format of public comment meetings for Dakota Access oil pipeline upsets opponents
Two meetings in Bismarck this week are receiving public comment on the draft environmental review of the controversial Dakota Access oil pipeline
BISMARCK, N.D. — Opponents of the Dakota Access oil pipeline are taking issue with the format of private oral testimony in meetings for public comment on a draft environmental review of the controversial pipeline.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is in the midst of two public comment meetings in Bismarck, North Dakota, the first held Wednesday, the second set for Thursday. People wishing to give testimony may do so orally in a curtained area with a stenographer, or do so in writing at tables.
The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe has long opposed the pipeline due to the risk of an oil spill contaminating the tribe's drinking water supply. The four-state pipeline crosses under the Missouri River just upstream of the tribe's reservation.
The long-awaited draft environmental review, released in September, outlines five options for the pipeline's fate. Those include denying the easement for the controversial crossing and removing or abandoning a 7,500-foot (2,286-meter) segment, or granting the easement with no changes or with additional safety measures. A fifth option is to reroute the pipeline north of Bismarck, which would require new state, local and federal permits.
Many opponents of the pipeline had hoped Wednesday's meeting would have allowed them to publicly question the Corps and pipeline developer Energy Transfer, The Bismarck Tribune reported.
Joe Lafferty, a Native American activist who opposes the pipeline, poured oil and water into a cup and challenged Corps officials to take a drink.
“If it means so much to you, I want you, DAPL, Army Corps of Engineers, drink this water
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