The Dakota Access pipeline (DAPL), a $3.7 billion project currently under construction by Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners, is a planned 1,172-mile-long pipeline to transport shale oil from the North Dakota Bakken oil fields to Patoka, Illinois, to link with other pipelines. Now 70% finished, the DAPL could carry an estimated 470,000 to 570,000 barrels of oil per day if completed. [1] [3]
In Apr. 2016 members of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe created the Sacred Stone Camp near where the pipeline was slated to cross under the Missouri River to protest impending construction of the DAPL because of concerns about environmental impact, possible water contamination, and destruction of sacred burial grounds. Since then conflicts between demonstrators and law enforcement have resulted in injuries and hundreds of arrests.
Native American tribal leaders and activists want President Obama to halt the DAPL, while North Dakota’s governor and two of its congressmen have called on the president to approve the pipeline and end protests. [24] [25] President Obama indicated before the Nov. 8, 2016 election that alternate routes might be considered and said he would let the situation “play out for several more weeks.” [26]
(via Dakota Access Pipeline: Top 3 Pros and Cons - ProCon.org)
Source: procon.org
