U.S. Army Corps Gives Eviction Notice to Dakota Access Protest Camp

FEB 3 2017, 9:13 PM ET

U.S. Army Corps Gives Eviction Notice to Dakota Access Protest Camp

by DANIEL A. MEDINA


The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has given a evacuation order to those protesting at the Dakota Access Pipeline camp in Cannon Ball, North Dakota.
In a statement Friday evening, the Corps said it would close the Oceti Sakowin Camp, which sits on approximately 50 acres of Corps land, on Feb. 22 due to the "high potential for flooding" in the low-lying area.

The land sits at the confluence of the Missouri and Cannonball Rivers, which the Corps says puts it at particular risk of flooding after a winter of record snowfall in the region.

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The Corps said oil erosion and pollution — which it attributed to the "unauthorized placement of structures, vehicles, personal property, and fires" on the land over the course of more than six months — could result in contaminated runoff into both rivers.

"As stewards of the public lands and natural resources, we have a responsibility to the public to prevent injuries and loss of life," said U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Omaha District Commander, Col. John Henderson. "We must also ensure our precious water resources are free from pollution due to human activities and respect for all who rely on this water for their livelihoods."

A senior U.S. Defense official confirmed to NBC News that members of Congress were notified today of the decision.

The decision could be the final, decisive blow for a protest movement that began at the camp in early August with just a few dozen protesters — who call themselves water protectors — from the Standing Rock Sioux tribe and blossomed into a movement captivated the nation with thousands of Native Americans and environmental activists flocking to the remote North Dakota plains to stop the $3.7 billion pipeline.

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The pipeline would run within a half-mile of the Standing Rock Sioux reservation, crossing beneath the Missouri River. The tribe says it could adversely impact their drinking water and destroy sacred sites where many of their ancestors are buried.

In late November, North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple issued a similar evacuation order, citing "severe winter conditions." The order was followed up days later by a U.S. Army Corps deadline of Dec. 5.

The orders drew thousands more to the camp in solidarity, including groups of U.S. military veterans who vowed to act as "human shields" against possible clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement.
On Dec. 4, just hours before that deadline, the Corps turned down a permit for the project in what would be a short-lived victory for the tribe. Last week, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to advance construction on the pipeline.

On Tuesday, North Dakota Sen. Heidi Heitkamp told NBC News that the Corps would grant an easement to Energy Transfer Partners, the Dallas-based company funding the project, to finish the pipeline.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/...rotest-n716686

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PIPELINE HALTED: Feds block proposed route of Dakota Access pipeline after protests

76 'Rogue' Dakota Access Pipeline Protesters Arrested After Refusing to Vacate Camp

• By MORGAN WINSOR
• JULIA JACOBO

Feb 2, 2017, 3:59 PM ET

About 76 "rogue" protesters were arrested Wednesday near the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota, authorities said.
According to the Morton County Sheriff's Department, "a rogue group of protesters" were illegally setting up camp on private property south of Blackwater Bridge. Officers met twice with representatives from the camp, including American Indian activist and Standing Rock Sioux Tribe member Chase Iron Eyes. The group was told its members were criminally trespassing and that they needed to leave immediately, authorities said.

The group was given a period to begin dismantling the camp and leave, but members did not show signs of vacating, despite "multiple warnings," and said they wouldn't leave, the sheriff's department said. The officers decided to "enforce the law and evict" the group, the department said.

"After repeated warnings to vacate a camp being illegally set up on private property in southern Morton County, south of Backwater Bridge, approximately 76 members of a rogue group of protesters were arrested by law enforcement officials today," the Morton County Sheriff's Department said in a press release.

The camp was cleared by about 4 p.m. local time, authorities said.

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Demonstrators from one of the previously established protest sites attempted to set up a camp across the road from their existing one because of concerns about spring flooding, one of the group leaders told ABC News on Wednesday. The leader said they believed they had the rights to use the land, although it is now private property, under a 19th century treaty.

The arrests were "relatively peaceful," the leader said, adding that while national guardsmen were on the scene to assist the sheriff's office, they did not participate in the arrests.

The arrests took place one day after two North Dakota Republican lawmakers suggested that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers could soon issue an easement needed to finish the controversial pipeline, after President Donald Trump signed a memorandum aimed at advancing the $3.8 billion project. But recent statements from the Army and the project's opponents indicate a decision is not imminent.

Thousands of Native Americans, environmental activists and their allies have camped out near the Standing Rock reservation for months to protest the Dakota Access Pipeline, in one of the largest Native American demonstrations in decades. The protesters, who call themselves water protectors, argue that the pipeline will threaten the reservation's water supply and traverse sacred sites.

The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe has been at the forefront of the prolonged protests against the pipeline project. The 1,172-mile, four-state crude oil pipeline is almost finished, except for a section under Lake Oahe just upstream of the Standing Rock reservation that has been the focus of the protests.

In July the tribe sued to block the project, claiming it was never meaningfully consulted before construction began. The tribe cites an 1851 treaty that it says designated the land in question for Native American tribes. That lawsuit is pending, and the Army Corps and the pipeline company argued in court papers that they followed a standard review process.

Kelcy Warren, the CEO of Energy Transfer Partners, the Texas-based firm that's building the pipeline, said that "concerns about the pipeline's impact on local water supply are unfounded" and "multiple archaeological studies conducted with state historic preservation offices found no sacred items along the route."

http://abcnews.go.com/US/76-rogue-da...ry?id=45225327

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