After Setbacks in Court, Activists Take Matters into own Hands
The battle over energy infrastructure draws on. Emboldened by President Obama’s rejection of Keystone XL last year and halting of work the Dakota Access Pipeline, activists have shifted their focus from fracking to protesting pipelines. Pipelines are new flash points for climate activism and are subject to a fairly complicated approval process and regulations that vary by state.
DAPL Drama Slowly Moving Forward
In a conference call hosted by Baird Equity Research on Wednesday, Bloomberg Intelligence Senior Energy Analyst Brandon Barnes laid out the three venues where the pipeline’s future is being decided; negotiations between Energy Transfer Partners, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, the U.S. District Court for D.C., and the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. Current status and potential scenarios were also discussed.
On Sunday evening, the D.C. Appeals Court denied the injunction request by the tribe halting work on the Dakota Access Pipeline, stating the tribe failed to demonstrate that an injunction was warranted. Work will resume on the 60% completed pipeline up to 20 miles east and west of Lake Oahe.
At the same time, the District Court is continuing to hear a suit filed by the tribe on August 1 against the Corps regarding the overall pipeline approval and permitting process. A status conference on the case will occur on November 11, however the threat of construction being halted has stopped with the injunction denial.
The next step will be for ETP to acquire easements to drill the pipeline under Lake Oahe. In the most probable scenario, the Corps will grant permits while District Court litigation will continue. ETP would ”likely get notice on easement status by the end of October and would take 60 days to drill under the lake with a full crew and no major disruptions,” according to Barnes. Another possibility would see the easement granted and the litigation resolved out of court.
In the event that the easement is denied, Barnes said ETP would “likely sue and probably win, although it would take a while.” The longest possible scenario would involve an easement denial followed by a re-review. “This is unlikely as the easement issue is not the proper vehicle for the Obama Administration to challenge the cultural issues raised by the Standing Rock suit in the District Court,” said Barnes.
Protest Round-Up
Outside of North Dakota, the most notable recent event saw protesters from the U.S.-based Climate Direct Action group force the shutdown of five major pipelines carrying crude to the U.S. from Canada.
The group claimed solidarity with protesters fighting DAPL in North Dakota and posted photos and videos showing members cutting security chains and closing valves. All nine protesters were arrested, with two being charged with felony counts.
Kinder Morgan’s TransMountain, TransCanada’s Keystone, Spectra’s Express, and Enbridge’s lines 4 and 67, were subject to tampering. Together, these lines supply more than 2.5 million Bbl/d of crude oil to American refineries. The Enbridge pipelines are part of a mainline network that handles the bulk of Canadian crude oil exports to the U.S. All pipelines were restarted after brief precautionary shutdowns.
On the same day, protesters crawled inside Spectra’s Aim Energy Pipeline at a worksite in Verplank, NY, sitting inside for 16 hours before being removed and arrested. The line is intended to carry natural gas from Pennsylvania to New England. No work stoppage occurred and Spectra has stated that it will press charges.
Many industry members have commented on these extreme, reckless, and unusual actions, calling them a danger to protesters, workers, the environment, and surrounding communities while potentially disrupting important fuel supplies to consumers.
Enbridge released a statement shortly after the shutdowns, saying “The actions taken to unlawfully trespass on our facility in Minnesota and attempt to tamper with energy infrastructure were reckless and dangerous. The groups involved in this morning’s activities claim to be protecting the environment, but they do the opposite and put the safety of people at risk – including themselves, first responders and neighboring communities and landowners. We take this very seriously and will support the prosecution of all those involved.”
The Departments of Homeland Security and Transportation are currently investigating the incidents and considering steps that will ensure safety and security of energy infrastructure, according to White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest. “When it comes to the security of our infrastructure, particularly our energy infrastructure, that’s something that the United States and this administration takes quite seriously.”
