North Dakota State of Mind 11-03-16
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By ANTHONY ADRAGNA Politico
Obama muddies path for Dakota Access resolution 11/03/16 10:00 AM EDT With help from Esther Whieldon OBAMA’S NOVEMBER (PIPELINE) SURPRISE: President Barack Obama's announcement that the intensifying fight over Dakota Access will remain unresolved while his administration looks for "ways to reroute" the 1,172-mile oil pipeline has effectively muddled the path to victory for both sides and all but ensured a nagging political headache for Hillary Clinton if she wins the presidency, Pro’s Elana Schor reports. Senate confirmation battles, you say? Environmental advocates are already laying the groundwork for the issue to return during Senate confirmation hearings for any Clinton nominees who might play a role in tribal consultation on federal infrastructure permitting. "I hope this will be raised to the broader level of making sure whoever is at the head of agencies take tribal rights seriously and hopefully have ideas about how to improve that process," one green group official who requested anonymity told Elana. League of Conservation Voters President Gene Karpinski weighed in for the first time in support of the protesters Wednesday evening and called for the Obama administration “to issue a stop work order while a full environmental review is completed.” And industry is decidedly unhappy: National Association of Manufacturers head Ross Eisenberg warned of broader impacts from the president’s comments: “No private company would spend the resources necessary to build a multi-billion dollar infrastructure project if there was a real risk that the federal government would halt or re-route their project once it was already more than 70% completed and approved by five governmental agencies,” he said in a Tuesday blog post. American Petroleum Institute CEO Jack Gerard called for swift action from the incoming president to let the project go forward, while Craig Stevens, a spokesman for the pro-pipeline Midwest Alliance of Infrastructure Now Coalition, said pipeline groups are "extremely concerned" by Obama's comments. Whose call will it be?: Obama said Tuesday that the Army Corps of Engineers will be mulling a possible detour for at least "several more weeks." Corps spokeswoman Moira Kelley tells ME officials are "exploring a range of options" and "will decide the best path to move forward." The Corps is also continuing to ask Dakota Access workers to "voluntarily pause all construction activity within 20 miles east or west of Lake Oahe," Kelley said. Kicking the decision until after the election will increase pressure on the president-elect — whether Clinton or Donald Trump — to get more involved in the dispute. White House spokesman Josh Earnest, while briefing the press Wednesday, declined to speculate on whether the Corps would have a decision before Obama leaves office. read more |
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