Tracker Pixel for Entry

​Standing Rock vs. Energy Transfer Partners part 2

News | November 13th, 2019

Protestors on Veterans Memorial Bridge in Fargo 2017 - photograph by C.S. Hagen

LINTON — The battle over the Dakota Access Pipeline is not finished, part two began Wednesday morning during a public hearing conducted by the North Dakota Public Service Commission.

Energy Transfer Partners — the parent company of the Dakota Access Pipeline — wants to expand the pipeline’s capacity, nearly doubling the flow of crude oil south. The Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, the principal opponent against the expansion, said such a change would put the environment, drinking water, and tribal lands further at risk.

“In recent months and years, Energy Transfer and its pipelines have caused a number of high-profile release incidents, prompting unprecedented government enforcement actions, shutdowns, and remedial actions,” Standing Rock attorneys said in the legal brief meant to be testified. “As of December 3, 2018, DAPL itself had experienced 12 spills of over 6,100 gallons of Bakken crude oil in less than two years of operation.”

From 2006 until 2018, Energy Transfer pipelines had 458 hazardous liquid incidents, which resulted in $109,737,246 in property damage from 2,557,716 gallons of hazardous liquid spills, according to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.

The number of spills made Energy Transfer “far and away the most hazardous pipeline operator across that 13-year period,” according to Standing Rock attorneys. The second worst hazardous pipeline operator had 45 percent fewer spills than Energy Transfer, according to the Standing Rock brief.

Since 2017, Energy Transfer spills have resulted in $20,540-487 in property damages, according to Standing Rock.

“The Tribe respectfully submits that the Commission should be alarmed that the industry’s most hazardous operator is now seeking to double the already substantial capacity of DAPL and increase the risk of spill incidents, without providing critical documents and data necessary for the Commission to meaningfully evaluate and mitigate those risks.”

Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Chairman Mike Faith, Jr. said in a press release that: “The remand was insincere. The Corps ignored the Tribe’s concerns and worked with DAPL to justify a foregone decision. This illegal and dangerous pipeline must be shut down.”

North Dakota residents, however, remain optimistic about pipelines, according to a partisan poll performed by Public Opinion Strategies. The organization is described as a “Republican polling firm” that helped Republicans hold the House of Representatives in Missouri.

A partner with Opinion Strategies, Micah Roberts, said in a press release that the majority of people across the state believe pipelines are the safest method to transport oil and gas.

“The findings from this poll are clear and positive,” Roberts said. “Not only do 95 percent of residents find the industry important to the state economy but, on a bipartisan basis residents feel pipelines in general, and the Dakota Access Pipeline in particular, is the safest way to transport oil across their state.”

The poll reported that nearly 70 percent of North Dakotans support “optimization of the Dakota Access Pipeline” effectively doubling the flow of crude oil to 1.1 million barrels per day.

North Dakota currently has record-breaking energy output of 1.5 million barrels per day, and Energy Transfer Partners hopes to alleviate the excess by installing pumping stations along the pipeline’s route. No new pipe will be needed at this time, according to North Dakota Public Service Commissioner Julie Fedorchak.

During a recent radio interview, Fedorchak stated that she wanted the hearing to last one day, but that she also wanted the hearing to be fair to all sides, adding that the hearing was not a discussion about the pros or cons of oil pipelines.

“Pipelines are perfectly legal in North Dakota, whether you like pipelines or don’t like pipelines, this isn’t the venue for you,” Fedorchak said. “It is not a debate on the merits of pipelines we will look at this expansion and whether it meets the standards of law to be developed… both parties will be obligated to provide facts to back up what their position is and in the end we will get to the bottom of a decision.

“It’s a good chance to not repeat what happened in the last Dakota Access issue.”

Recently in:

By Alicia Underlee Nelsonalicia@hpr1.com Ten North Dakota communities will participate in the nationwide No Kings Day of Peaceful Action on October 18. The grassroots movement is a nonviolent protest against President Trump’s…

By Michael M. Millermichael.miller@ndsu.edu I would like to recognize some of the scholarly Germans from Russia from Canada and USA shared on the GRHC website. There are additional names not included here. If you have suggestions…

Friday, October 31, doors 8 p.m. show starts at 8:30 p.m.The Aquarium above Dempey’s, 226 N. Broadway, FargoThe annual Aquarium Halloween Cover Show is back and it is stacked. And this time there are a limited amount of presale…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.com At the end of September, downtown Fargo said goodbye to another old friend; the Spirit Room closed its doors, marking the end of an era. The Spirit Room room has been a fixture downtown for the…

By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comThat old time religion, filled with love, is no longer good enough In the first “Inherit the Wind” movie about religion and evolution starring Spencer Tracy, Fredric March, and Gene Kelly, the…

By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.com Holiday wine shopping shouldn’t have to be complicated. But unfortunately it can cause unneeded anxiety due to an overabundance of choices. Don’t fret my friends, we once again have you covered…

By Rick Gion and Nichole Hensenrickgion@gmail.com The wait is finally over. Those who have visited Nichole’s Fine Pastry & Cafe lately know about the recent major additions and renovations that have taken place over the past…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.com Dakotah Faye is a hip-hop artist from Minot, North Dakota, and he’s had a busy year. He’s released two albums. This summer he opened for Tech N9ne in Sturgis and will be opening for Bone…

By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.com Now available on Amazon Prime following its world premiere last month as the opening night selection of the Toronto International Film Festival’s golden anniversary, “John Candy: I Like…

By HPR staffsubmit@hpr1.com Mark the first weekend of October on your calendar. It’s the weekend of the Studio Crawl, which takes us all on a wonderful, metro-wide tour of our talented (and often wacky) arts community. On October…

Press release“Shakespeare with a sharpened edge.” To launch its 2025 – 2026 season, Theatre NDSU is thrilled to team up with Moorhead-based organization Theatre B to perform a co-production of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and…

By Annie Prafckeannieprafcke@gmail.com AUSTIN, Texas – As a Chinese-American, connecting to my culture through food is essential, and no dish brings me back to my mother’s kitchen quite like hotdish. Yes, you heard me right –…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comNew Jamestown Brewery Serves up Local FlavorThere’s something delicious brewing out here on the prairie and it just so happens to be the newest brewery west of the Red River and east of the…

By Ellie Liveranieli.liverani.ra@gmail.com When we are sick, all we want is a cure. You go to the doctor, they give you a pill, you take it for a bit, then you are cured. It happens. But unfortunately, it is not always the case. …

By Alicia Underlee NelsonProtests against President Trump’s policies and the cuts made by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are planned across North Dakota and western Minnesota Friday, April 4 and…

By Vern Thompsonvern.thompson@rocketmail.comMoral accountability and the crisis of leadership  As a recovering person living one day at a time for the last 35 years, I have learned not to judge others because I have not walked in…