On Sunday afternoon, demonstrators at Kansas City’s Berkley Riverfront Park stood in solidarity with Native American tribes protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL).
A lot of people out at rally to support national opposition to the proposed Dakota Access Pipeline. @41ActionNews pic.twitter.com/TwhXKDYfCC
— Aubrey Morse (@aubstheword) September 4, 2016
The Dakota Access Pipeline is designed to transport crude oil from North Dakota into Illinois. It will travel through 50 counties in four states. The 1,172-mile route will cross three major rivers, including underneath the Missouri River.
Protesters said they wanted to bring attention to the serious health, environmental and economic risks if construction on the Dakota Access Pipeline continues.
“We need water to live. So we have to do everything in our power to protect each and every river and stream that is left that is still alive, “ said Moses Brings Plenty, an organizer.
Robin Martinez, an attorney with the National Lawyers Guild who worked on the effort to halt the Keystone XL Pipeline said the following about the DAPL in a statement:
"The Dakota Access Pipeline is an ill-conceived project that threatens the Missouri River and the water resources we rely upon. The United States claims to follow the rule of law, but our Federal Government failed to obtain the free, prior and informed consent of Native American tribes whose land and water is threatened by the Dakota Access Pipeline. That failure violates international law and treaties that we are obligated to follow. Dakota Access is slated to ship half a million gallons of crude oil fracked from the Bakken Shale per day underneath the Missouri River. The reality is that pipelines leak. That risks the health and environment of all downstream communities that rely on the river."
According to the company behind the construction of the pipeline, Dakota Access, LLC, it will not only produce crude to support domestic consumption, but it will also increase access to crude, help the economy by creating jobs, and increase the overall safety to the public with a reduction in truck and rail utilization.
But, a lawsuit has been filed accusing the Army Corps of Engineers for violating the Clean Water Act and the National Historic Preservation Act by issuing final permits for the pipeline.
“It's not just about the water. It's about our ancestral burial sites; where are ancestors are buried,” said Peter Francis, a DAPL opponent.
On Saturday, violence erupted in North Dakota between protesters and private security guards hired to protect contractors, as they continue working on the multi-billion dollar pipeline.
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Lisa Benson can be reached at lisa.benson@kshb.com.
