Dakota Access Pipeline

Dakota Access Pipeline
NittyG · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Name	Dakota Access Pipeline
Caption	Route of the pipeline
Location	North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Illinois
Country	United States
General direction	North–South
From	Bakken formation, North Dakota
To	Patoka, Illinois
Owner	Energy Transfer Partners
Commissioned	2017
Length mi	1,172
Diameter in	30

Dakota Access Pipeline. The Dakota Access Pipeline is a 1,172-mile-long underground oil pipeline project that transports crude oil from the Bakken formation in North Dakota to a terminal in Patoka, Illinois. Owned and operated by Energy Transfer Partners, the project was completed in early 2017 after facing significant legal challenges and becoming a focal point for international environmental and Indigenous rights protests. Its construction and operation have had substantial implications for energy policy in the United States, tribal sovereignty, and environmental justice movements.

Background and development

The project was conceived in the mid-2010s to transport light sweet crude oil from the prolific Bakken formation, which experienced a major production boom due to advancements in hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling. Energy Transfer Partners announced the project in 2014, forming a joint venture with Marathon Petroleum and Enbridge to finance and develop the infrastructure. The proposal emerged during a period of rapid expansion for the American petroleum industry, seeking to provide a more cost-effective and safer alternative to moving oil via rail transport across the Midwestern United States. Initial planning involved extensive surveys and negotiations for a route that would avoid major population centers and sensitive ecological zones, though the final path would later become highly contentious.

Route and technical specifications

The pipeline begins in the North Dakota oil fields near Stanley, North Dakota, and travels southeast through South Dakota and Iowa before terminating at the Patoka, Illinois hub, which connects to other pipelines like the Capline system. Its 30-inch diameter steel pipe is buried a minimum of four feet below the surface, crossing underneath the Missouri River just north of the Standing Rock Indian Reservation at Lake Oahe. Key technical features include five mainline pump stations, advanced leak detection systems, and remote-operated block valves designed to isolate sections in an emergency. The route was designed to follow existing utility and transportation corridors where possible, minimizing new land disturbance, but its crossing of the Missouri River watershed became the epicenter of legal and protest activity.

Legal and regulatory history

The project required approvals from multiple state and federal agencies, including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which granted key permits under the Clean Water Act and Rivers and Harbors Act in July 2016. This permit process was later challenged in federal court by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and other plaintiffs, leading to a series of rulings from the United States District Court for the District of Columbia and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. In early 2017, the administration of President Donald Trump issued an executive memorandum expediting the project's completion, and the Army Corps of Engineers granted the final easement. Subsequent legal battles have continued, focusing on the adequacy of the environmental impact statement under the National Environmental Policy Act.

Protests and opposition

Beginning in early 2016, the pipeline faced massive sustained opposition, primarily centered at camps near the Standing Rock Indian Reservation in North Dakota. Led by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and supported by the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, the movement drew thousands of participants, including members of hundreds of other Native American tribes, environmental activists from groups like Greenpeace and the Sierra Club, and high-profile supporters such as Jane Fonda and Mark Ruffalo. The protests, which framed the project as a threat to sacred sites and the water supply from the Missouri River, garnered global media attention and were marked by confrontations with law enforcement, including the Morton County Sheriff's Department and private security firms. The mobilization is considered one of the largest gatherings of Indigenous peoples of the Americas in modern history.

Economic and environmental impact

Proponents, including the American Petroleum Institute and state governments in North Dakota, argued the project enhanced energy independence, created thousands of construction jobs, and provided a safer mode of transport than railroad tank cars. Economically, it provided a crucial outlet for Bakken formation crude to reach Gulf Coast refineries and international markets. Environmental and tribal opponents highlighted risks of oil spills contaminating the Missouri River, which supplies drinking water for millions, and the potential contribution to climate change through continued fossil fuel infrastructure. The conflict also spurred significant investment in renewable energy advocacy and legal funds dedicated to tribal sovereignty issues.

Current status and operational history

The pipeline began commercial service on June 1, 2017, and has operated continuously since, moving hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil daily. In July 2020, a federal judge ordered the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to complete a full environmental impact statement, leading to a period of legal uncertainty, but the pipeline was allowed to remain operational during the review. As of 2023, the draft EIS process is ongoing, with the Biden administration overseeing the review. The pipeline remains a fully operational and economically significant piece of U.S. energy infrastructure, while also standing as a lasting symbol in debates over environmental justice, Indigenous rights, and fossil fuel development.

Category:Natural gas and oil pipelines in the United States Category:Energy Transfer Partners Category:2017 controversies in the United States Category:Native American history of North Dakota