Tsunami Warning, Education, And Research Act of 2015
Press Release
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Madam President, I rise again to speak about the Dakota Access Pipeline issue in North Dakota. Again, I want to emphasize that we need to focus on the facts and understand what is really going on there. On Saturday, the Obama administration announced its refusal to issue the final easement for the Dakota Access Pipeline to cross a narrow section deep underneath the Missouri River.
This easement is required to finish the 1,172-mile-long pipeline which is already 98 percent complete in North Dakota--98 percent complete in North Dakota--and 86 percent complete overall. As I have indicated before on the floor, it runs from the Bakken oilfields in North Dakota, moving North Dakota light sweet crude all the way to Patoka, IL, so oil can go into all of the refineries along the eastern part of the country and the eastern seaboard.
In fact, our light sweet crude oil competes with OPEC. If they are not using our light sweet crude, they are bringing in oil from places like Saudi Arabia for these eastern refineries. So very important in terms of energy independence for our country, but as I said, this pipeline is 98 percent complete in our State. Now, again, the Obama administration is delaying it.
Unfortunately, this latest Obama administration decision fails to follow the rule of law, it fails to resolve the issue, and it perpetuates an extremely difficult situation for North Dakotans.
Furthermore, it is estimated that over 5,000 protesters are still unlawfully gathered on Federal or Corps of Engineers land in our State.
They are there in direct violation of the Army Corps' December 5 eviction notice, as well as an evacuation order from North Dakota's Governor.
However, now that the Obama administration has made its decision, protesters should move from their unlawful site on the Army Corp of Engineers' land. Even Standing Rock Chairman David Archambault has finally said that protesters need to leave and return home. Let me repeat that. Even Standing Rock Sioux Chairman David Archambault has finally said protesters need to leave and return home. He is the tribal chairman. The Obama administration needs to do the same. The administration needs to call on the protesters to leave this illegal site as well.
As I said, the Dakota Access Pipeline issue has been difficult for the people of North Dakota. In recent months, protesters have trespassed on private property, they have blocked state highways and damaged bridges, they have committed acts of vandalism to construction equipment by cutting hydraulic hoses, breaking windows, filling gas tanks with gravel, and setting equipment on fire.
Protesters have blocked intersections in Bismarck and Mandan. They have disrupted area businesses, and farmers and ranchers in the area have reported instances of trespassing and butchered livestock. The rule of law matters in this country, but by committing acts of lawlessness at this construction site as a proxy for changing broader environmental policies, the rule of law is undermined.
Just as the pipeline company must follow the law, the protesters themselves need to follow the law as well. By continuing to remain in the camp, the protesters are defying Federal and State orders to leave.
They are subjecting residents in the area to additional weeks of disruption and hardship. They also require our law enforcement to continue their around-the-clock presence, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
The protesters need to follow the law, just like everyone else. I repeat, it is time--past time--to leave this illegal camp. I would like to address the dedication of our State and local law enforcement officers--the professionals who make up the North Dakota Highway Patrol, our sheriffs, and our deputies around the State and from other States who have come in to assist us.
Members of the North Dakota National Guard and other first responders have acted with professionalism and diligence to maintain peace and order under very difficult circumstances. They continue to protect the public, especially now with the onset of challenging winter conditions.
In my 10 years as Governor of North Dakota, I spent a lot of time working with our law enforcement officers to prepare for weather emergencies. I know the preparations these situations require.
Even today, our law enforcement and State Department of Transportation crews are working to keep evacuation routes open, rescuing people stranded on the highways and providing assistance to many from outside North Dakota who are unprepared to deal with the recent blizzard we had in North Dakota.
The men and women in law enforcement are doing their best to protect everyone, including the protesters. We owe our law enforcement a debt of gratitude for their diligence, for their dedication, and for their professionalism, but North Dakota's law enforcement resources are severely strained. I have repeatedly called on the U.S. Department of Justice to provide additional funding and law enforcement officers to ensure public safety.
Our State has requested Federal assistance and was assured--was assured--by the Attorney General that we would be given expedited consideration, but that has not been the case. Our Byrne grant application for Federal assistance has still not been approved by the Attorney General. I will continue to call on the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Department of the Interior, and the Corps to provide additional Federal resources, including funding and law enforcement personnel to assist our State and local law enforcement officers and ensure public safety.
As I have said before, everyone has a right to be heard, but it must be done lawfully and peacefully, whether that is during the permitting process, with its opportunities for public comment,
or through the court system. I emphasize through the court system. That is the established method in our country for dispute resolution. So it is time--it is past time--for the protesters to stand down and to recognize that the courts and the next administration will resolve this issue.
It is also important to recognize that this pipeline is not unique or unusual as an infrastructure project. There are more than 38,000 crude oil pipeline river and water body crossings in the United States--more than 38,000--and more than 1,000 in my State of North Dakota alone.
This is one more. These crossings range from rivers, streams, and lakes to ponds, canals, and ditches. Also, it is important to understand the oil is already being transported across a river on rail and across bridges.
Once again, I just want to show--this is the network of oil pipelines in the country. They cross many bodies of water. We are doing it one more time with the latest, greatest technology. The pipeline does not go in the river in any way, shape or form. It is about 100 feet underneath the river. So even if there was a leak, somehow that oil would have to come up through bedrock to even get into the area.
In other words, it is the latest, greatest technology. This oil is already moving to market. It is already crossing the river on rail and on truck. If we don't build this, we are relying on the old infrastructure, which is less safe and less environmentally sound, instead of building the new, latest, greatest infrastructure with the technologies that will be more efficient, more safe, more environmentally sound. That is what makes sense. Again, it is not unique.
Additionally, the pipeline company has modified its route on its own 140 times in North Dakota to avoid any important or cultural resources.
So they have modified the route to avoid any cultural resources 140 times just in our State.
In July 2016, the Army Corps issued its final environmental assessment, which concluded with the finding of ``no significant environmental impact'' and ``no historic properties affected.'' These determinations have been upheld not once but twice by the Federal courts, including a judge appointed by the Obama administration--a Federal district court judge here in Washington, DC.
As for the way forward for this difficult issue, we need to look at the facts at hand. In the midst of the ongoing news coverage, it can seem that heated rhetoric leaves little room for good-faith efforts to find common ground, but I want to highlight that there continues to be attempts at finding consensus among the stakeholders, even as recently as last Friday.
To that point, in a meeting I had yesterday with the Army Corps' Northwestern Division Commander, BG Scott Spellman, he stated that last Friday, on December 2, the Army Corps' Omaha district commander, John Henderson, convened representatives from the pipeline company, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, and Army Corps officials. They met in Bismarck for 5 hours. The meeting included tribal staff and the company's engineering and technical experts who came together for the sole purpose of reviewing Standing Rock's 19 specific safety and environmental concerns raised in the tribe's October 2016 letter to the Corps.
In this meeting, the pipeline company, tribe, and Army Corps discussed all 19 concerns raised by the Standing Rock, and they considered 36 potential terms and conditions that could further reduce the risk of a spill or pipeline rupture. Again, let me repeat that. In order to directly address the river crossing concerns raised by the tribe and the protesters, the pipeline company was willing to consider more than 36 additional safeguards for this crossing.
Friday's meeting actually resulted in a revised proposed easement, which was presented to the Assistant Secretary of the Army, Jo-Ellen Darcy, the next day, on Saturday, December 3--last Saturday. However, the following day, on Sunday, December 4, Assistant Secretary Darcy promptly rejected the revised easement and instead required more ``broad public input and analysis.''
Clearly, the Obama administration is not interested in finding a way forward based on the merits of the project, even in light of two Federal court rulings upholding the Army Corps' reviews and even with subsequent attempts by the company to specifically address the tribe's remaining environmental concerns.
In recent days, I have met directly with President-Elect Trump's transition team and conveyed the importance of bringing this situation to a resolution. I have also spoken directly on the matter to Vice President-Elect Mike Pence and to the next Attorney General, Jeff Sessions.
President-Elect Trump has now publicly communicated his support for the project, as well as for providing Federal assistance, including additional resources and law enforcement personnel. This project should be decided on the merits and in accordance with the law. Failure to do so will cast new uncertainty on all future infrastructure projects, from pipelines that carry oil and gas and other liquids to transmission lines carrying both traditional and renewable energy.
If companies and individuals cannot rely on a system that follows the rule of law, nobody will risk making future investments in our country's vital infrastructure. That will make our Nation less safe, less secure, and less competitive. As I said a minute ago, think about it. If we can't build new infrastructure, then we will continue to use the old infrastructure, which is less safe and less environmentally secure.
To avoid this situation in the future--the kind of standoff we have with the Dakota Access Pipeline--we need to focus on ways to improve the permitting process. We need to improve the process so we can make sure all people's voices are heard and provide regulatory certainty to companies willing to invest in large infrastructure projects. This should be done prospectively, not retroactively--looking for ways to better streamline procedures, reduce duplicative hurdles, and improve methods for public input.
This pipeline can be built safely and include necessary protections for both the tribe and everyone else downstream. The fact is that our country needs energy, and we cannot have it without energy infrastructure--pipelines, transmission lines, roads, rail, and bridges--to move both traditional and renewable energy from where it is produced to where it is consumed. Move it both safely and efficiently.
Let's all work together to make that happen.
With that, Madam President, I yield the floor.
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