For Immediate Release:
5/27/16
Press Contact:
Dallas Goldtooth, 708-515-6158, dallas@ienearth.org
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Revokes Sovereign Lands Construction Permit for Dakota Access Pipeline in Iowa
Indigenous Environmental Network Responds
Des Moines, IA – The United States Fish and Wildlife Service has revoked its approval of a construction permit for the Dakota Access pipeline through the Big Sioux River Wildlife Management Area in Northeast Iowa. This permit is called the Sovereign Lands Construction Permit and was revoked because a significant Native American archaeological site was discovered along its proposed path. Due to the permit revocation, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources has ordered that Dakota Access LLC stop all construction work for its Bakken oil pipeline until a survey of the area is conducted and consultation with local agencies and tribes is completed.
The Dakota Access project is a 1,168-mile Bakken oil pipeline proposed to carry up to 450,000 barrels per day. The pipeline would cross the “Breadbasket of America” through the states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and Illinois.
Dallas Goldtooth, Keep It In the Ground Campaign Organizer for The Indigenous Environmental Network gives the following statement:
“This action by Fish & Wildlife Service sets a precedent we hope other local and federal agencies, like the Army Corps of Engineers, take notice of and follow. We must not allow Big Oil to trample Indigenous rights, landowner rights, and federal policies that aim to protect the land, water, and culturally significant sites. Dakota Access is against the ropes, now is the time to deliver the final blows and stop this pipeline.”
###