FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 4, 2016
Contact:
Stephen Kretzmann, steve [at] priceofoil [dot] org
David Turnbull, david [at] priceofoil [dot] org
Oil Change International response to Dakota Access Pipeline announcement
Today, the Army Corps of Engineers announced it will not approve an easement that would allow the proposed Dakota Access Pipeline to cross under Lake Oahe in North Dakota and will be requiring a full environmental impact statement before the project can continue. In response to this announcement, Stephen Kretzmann, Executive Director of Oil Change International released the following statement:
“First and foremost, this is an incredible victory for the Standing Rock Sioux tribe and the thousands of water protectors who joined them in bold resistance to the dangerous Dakota Access pipeline. We salute them for their leadership and thank them for the resolve that has brought us to this day. The fight to stop the Dakota Access pipeline will continue, but today marks an important step in that fight and we thank the Obama administration for taking this step.
“There are important lessons from this victory as we enter into the next four years of a Trump administration. First, our movement must continue to take leadership from Native communities and all those on the frontlines bearing the impacts of the fossil fuel industry. Second, bold and unflinching nonviolent civil disobedience and direct action is a critical element of our resistance to the fossil fuel industry and fight for justice. As we enter into the Trump administration, these lessons will be critical elements to our collective resistance.
“We look forward to the full environmental impact statement now required for the Dakota Access pipeline. We know it fails any reasonable climate test along with threatening critical water supplies, and we will stand with Standing Rock to be sure that the pipeline will never be completed.”
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