Letter to the Honorable Rob Bishop, Chairman of the House Natural Resources and the Honorable Don Young, Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Indian, Insular, and Alaska Native Affairs - Request Hearing to Discuss Tribal Consultation in Dakota Access Pipeline Development Process

Letter

Dear Chairman Bishop and Chairman Young:

We write to request an oversight hearing in the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian, Insular, and Alaska Native Affairs on whether the appropriate level of tribal consultation occurred prior to the approval of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL), per federal policies and laws. Tribal consultation prior to agency action that may impact an American Indian/Alaska Native community is fundamental to a tribe's sovereignty and self-determination, and we are concerned that the Army Corps of Engineers ignored serious concerns raised by the tribe and other federal agencies related to DAPL's impact on both sacred sites and their water supply.

The Dakota Access Pipeline is a proposed 1,168 mile-long pipeline that will transport crude oil from the Bakken region of North Dakota to refineries in Illinois. The pipeline is owned by Dakota Access, LLC, a subsidiary of Energy Transfer Partners, LLC. The proposed route runs within one-half mile of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe (Tribe) Reservation, and travels through the Tribe's ancestral homelands.

Concerns about the proposed pipeline route were raised by Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, the Department of the Interior (DOI), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP). These included a lack of consideration of the location of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Reservation, inadequate planning for potential leaks and spills and their impact on downstream water supplies, a disproportionate impact on low income and communities of color, a lack of coordination with local tribes, and non-compliance with Executive Order 13175 mandating tribal consultation.

We are very concerned about potential impacts both to sacred sites along the selected route for the pipeline, as well as to the Tribe's water source. Furthermore, we are disheartened to learn that meaningful consultation with the tribe concerning sacred sites and proposed mitigation plans has still not occurred. Therefore, we urge you to convene an oversight hearing as soon as possible to determine if additional legislative action may be necessary in this situation.

Sincerely,

Source