Despite the deadline, authorities say they won’t forcibly remove the protesters.
The company constructing the pipeline, Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners, released a statement Sunday night slamming the Army Corps’ decision as politically motivated and alleging that President Obama’s administration was determined to delay the matter until he leaves office.
“The White House’s directive today to the Corps for further delay is just the latest in a series of overt and transparent political actions by an administration which has abandoned the rule of law in favor of currying favor with a narrow and extreme political constituency,” the company said.
President-elect Donald Trump, a pipeline supporter who has reportedly invested in both Energy Transfer Partners and another company involved with the pipeline, will take office in January, although it wasn’t immediately clear what steps his administration would be able to take to reverse the Army Corps’ latest decision or how quickly that could happen.
Actor Mark Ruffalo and civil rights leader Jesse Jackson join Native American protesters attempting to block construction of Dakota Access Pipeline. “The irony is they sent Native Americans out on these reservations to perish, only to find that there was great wealth beneath the soil,” Jackson said.
Industry group the MAIN Coalition, which is made up of agriculture, business and labor entities that benefit from Midwest infrastructure projects, said it hoped Trump would take action.
That uncertainty, Allard said, is part of the reason the protesters won’t leave.
“We don’t know what Trump is going to do,” Allard said.
Assistant Secretary for Civil Works Jo-Ellen Darcy said in a news release that her decision was based on the need to “explore alternate routes” for the pipeline’s crossing. Her full decision doesn’t rule out that it could cross under the reservoir or north of Bismarck.
“Although we have had continuing discussion and exchanges of new information with the Standing Rock Sioux and Dakota Access, it’s clear that there’s more work to do,” Darcy said. “The best way to complete that work responsibly and expeditiously is to explore alternate routes for the pipeline crossing.”
North Dakota’s leaders criticized the decision, with Gov. Jack Dalrymple calling it a “serious mistake” that “prolongs the dangerous situation” of having several hundred protesters who are camped out on federal land during cold, wintry weather. U.S. Rep. Kevin Cramer said it’s a “very chilling signal” for the future of infrastructure in the United States.
“I’m encouraged we will restore law and order next month, when we get a president who will not thumb his nose at the rule of law,” Cramer said in a statement to Politico.
Attorney General Loretta Lynch said Sunday that the Department of Justice will “continue to monitor the situation” and stands “ready to provide resources to help all those who can play a constructive role in easing tensions.”
Standing Rock Sioux tribal chairman Dave Archambault said Monday that the tribe “will be forever grateful to the Obama administration” for the Army Corps of Engineers’ decision.
Archambault said the Corps’ decision “took tremendous courage” and he hoped Energy Transfer Partners, and the incoming Trump administration will respect that decision.
Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier, whose department has done much of the policing for the protests, said that “local law enforcement does not have an opinion” on the easement and that his department will continue to “enforce the law.”
U.S. Secretary for the Interior Sally Jewell said in a statement that the Corps’ “thoughtful approach … ensures that there will be an in-depth evaluation of alternative routes for the pipeline and a closer look at potential impacts.”
Earlier Sunday, an organizer with Veterans Stand for Standing Rock said tribal elders had asked the military veterans not to have confrontations with law enforcement officials, adding the group is there to help out those who’ve dug in against the project.
About 250 veterans gathered about a mile from the main camp for a meeting with organizer Wes Clark Jr., the son of former Democratic presidential candidate Gen. Wesley Clark. The group had said about 2,000 veterans were coming, but it wasn’t clear how many actually arrived.
“We have been asked by the elders not to do direct action,” Wes Clark Jr. said. He added that the National Guard and law enforcement have armored vehicles and are armed, warning: “If we come forward, they will attack us.” Instead, he told the veterans, “If you see someone who needs help, help them out.”
Some veterans will take part in a prayer ceremony Monday, during which they’ll apologize for historical detrimental conduct by the military toward Native Americans and ask for forgiveness, Clark said. He also called the veterans’ presence “about right and wrong and peace and love.”
Authorities moved a blockade from the north end of the Backwater Bridge with the conditions that protesters stay south of it and come there only if there is a prearranged meeting. Authorities also asked protesters not to remove barriers on the bridge, which they have said was damaged in the late October conflict that led to several people being hurt, including a serious arm injury.
“That heavy presence is gone now and I really hope in this de-escalation they’ll see that, and in good faith . the leadership in those camps will start squashing the violent factions,” Cass County Sheriff Paul Laney said in a statement, reiterating that any violation will “will result in their arrest.”
Steven Perry, a 66-year-old Vietnam veteran who’s a member of the Little Traverse Bay band of Odawa Indians in Michigan, spoke of one of the protesters’ main concerns: that the pipeline could pollute drinking water. “This is not just a native issue,” he said, “This is an issue for everyone.”
Published at 4:10 PM EST on Dec 4, 2016 | Updated 2 hours ago
