Dakota Pipeline Protest – Members of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe (Credit: Moms Clean Air Force)
PIPELINES
Victory: Decision cites risks of pipeline spills to Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
On March 26, 2020, a federal court granted a request by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe to strike down federal permits for the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline.
“This validates everything the Tribe has been saying all along about the risk of oil spills to the people of Standing Rock. We will continue to see this through until DAPL has finally been shut down.” Jan Hasselmanl – Earthjustice Attorney
“This validates everything the Tribe has been saying all along about the risk of oil spills to the people of Standing Rock. We will continue to see this through until DAPL has finally been shut down.” Jan Hasselmanl – Earthjustice Attorney
Map of Pipelines Across the U.S.
There are over 2.6 million miles of pipelines in the United States, operated by about 3000 companies and 18,000 places where they cross under rivers, streams and lakes.. The US has the largest network of energy pipelines in the world. Pipelines carry many different types of materials including oil, natural gas, biofuels, sewage, slurry, water and even beer. Most pose health risks by contaminating our waterways with hazardous chemicals.
Half of oil and gas pipelines were built in the 1950s-1970s, which means that many are nearing the end of their ~50-year design life. America’s pipelines suffer hundreds of leaks and ruptures every year, costing lives and money while contaminating the environment. As existing lines grow older, critics warn that the risk of accidents on those lines will only increase.
Keystone Pipeline Spill October 31, 2019 Credit: Andrew Burton / Getty Images
The Keystone Pipeline spilled as much as 383,000 gallons of crude oil into rural wetlands in North Dakota before shut down on October 31, 2019, making it one of the largest USA oil spills in the past decade
How to Prevent Pipeline Spills.
American Rivers offers excellent guidance – “While the energy industry will complain about the cost, we need to demand common sense safety measures like burying pipelines much deeper under rivers, constructing them with thicker steel, requiring automatic shut-off valves, mandating more frequent inspections, and dramatically increasing fines for acts of negligence. Failure to implement these measures is an invitation to more oil spills, more contaminated water supplies, more sickened people, and more fish and wildlife kills.”
