This is great news for the tribes, people, and sacred places in the path of the proposed pipeline. Hearings on the motion to dismiss were held Thursday, September 12, 2019, in the United States District Court for the District of Montana, Great Falls Division. The federal government must examine potential impacts on the safety and welfare of Native peopleespecially women and children. Even as Trump and TC Energy tried to revive the pipeline, polls showed that a majority of Americans opposed it. The "replacement" pipeline runs mostly on a completely new route through Minnesota, barreling through hundreds of lakes, rivers, aqueducts and wetlands. It poured 407, 000 gallonsalmost 3,000,000 poundsof crude oil into the ground. The obligation of the United States to uphold those treaties is paramount, and Keystone XLs current path cannot be approved without the Siangu Lakotas consent. This portion of the pipeline is called the Gulf Coast Pipeline. On the map users will be able to locate the pipeline route, pumping stations, pipe storage yards, and man camp locations (also known as construction camps). GIS allows for the creation of maps that display specific information related to the City. (Indeed, Keystone XL was viewed as an essential ingredient in the oil industrys plans to triple tar sands production by 2030. The federal court denied the United States federal governments and the TransCanadas (TC Energy) efforts to dismiss the Tribes case against the KXL Pipeline. 4 Key Impacts of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access Pipelines - Science The government failed to even evaluate an alternate route to avoids tribal treaty lands. In addition to extensive violations of law outlined in the original complaint, the new complaint raises the following issues: Maps released by TransCanada show the pipeline corridor and access roads crossing Rosebud territory, some of which is held in trust, as well as Rosebuds Mni Wiconi Water system. The United States formally agreed, among other things, to keep outsiders off Sioux and other tribal nations territory and protect tribal natural resources. Obviously, that is not the case. While TransCanada replaced topsoil and reseeded the area affected by the spill, it will take decades for the lasting damage of the spill to be known and remedied. This mapping tool hopes to bridge that gap by giving communities the ability to see how close this deadly tar sands snake comes to their homes, communities and lands. It was expected to transport 830,000 barrels of Alberta tar sands oil per day to refineries on the Gulf Coast of Texas. Regardless of the new permit and political maneuvering, the President is required to honor the treaties and the Constitution. If the Presidents goal was to avoid complying with the District Courts decision in that case, it worked. This interactive tool is a powerful visual for Indigenous communities and our allies along the KXL route. The biggest concern with the Keystone XL Pipeline would be a spill in an environmentally sensitive area, such as the . Share. The Rosebud Sioux Tribe (Sicangu Lakota Oyate) and the Fort Belknap Indian Community (Assiniboine (Nakoda) and Gros Ventre (Aaniiih) Tribes) in coordination with their counsel, the Native American Rights Fund, on September 10, 2018, sued the Trump Administration for numerous violations of the law in the Keystone XL pipeline permitting process. Browse our map catalog downloadable PDFs and our interactive maps. Maps issued by TransCanada (TC Energy) clearly show the proposed KXL pipeline crossing tribal lands. Pipeline's path cuts across Indian Country and history Pipeline representatives start visiting landowners potentially affected by Keystone XL. Biden shut down the Keystone XL pipeline. Here's what that means for The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. To that end, the government must examine the potential impact of pipeline construction and man-camps on Native people, especially women and children. This lines up with an industry trend: Oil and gas companies are exporting 8.4 million barrels of crude oil and refined fuels every single day. In January, TransCanada reported that it would begin Keystone XL pipeline construction in April despite ongoing questions about the projects permitting. NARF and our clients are confident in our claims against the construction of the pipeline, and we are optimistic the court will not allow this case to be dismissed. When you sign up you'll become a member of NRDC's Activist Network. Any new pipeline will leak, it is just a question of when. The Tribes are asking the court to declare the review process in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) and to rescind the illegal issuance of the Keystone XL pipeline presidential permit. On the campaign trail, Biden vowed to cancel the Keystone XL cross-border permit should he win the presidencyand on his first day in office, he made good on that promise. It has also been determined that tar sands oil emits 17 percent more carbon than other forms of crude oil. The Rosebud Sioux Tribe and Fort Belknap Indian Community successfully stood strong for years to protect their people, water, and sacred lands from the threat of the Keystone XL Pipeline. September: TransCanada and ConocoPhillips file an application for the Keystone XL Phase 4 extension. The dire climate change findings in the SEIS support the argument against the XL pipeline. In fact, the treaties were created specifically for this sort of violation. They begin by displaying a map of the proposed pipeline that shows that the pipeline will not cross Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, and in fact, it is located entirely on privately owned land except for a 1,094 ft portion . Paramount Network just released a new mini-documentary entitled Take Action: Protect Our Land. The documentary explores the potential impact of the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline on our client, the Fort Belknap Indian Community in Montana. The pipeline would have stretched 1,179 . But the case against . July: The State Department extends its review of Keystone, saying they need more time for review before a final environmental impact assessment can be released. They were bargained for with the blood of our ancestors. NARF will not allow the US government to ignore or forget the agreements made with tribal nations. Its mines are a blight on Canadas boreal, where mining operations dig up and flatten forests to access the oil below, destroying wildlife habitat and one of the worlds largest carbon sinks. Since its construction in 1977, the Trans Alaska Pipeline has transported almost 17 billion barrels of oil, and currently transports about 527,323 barrels a day. In these filings, the Tribes highlight that TransCanada admitted that the Keystone XL pipeline would cross Rosebud mineral estates held in trust by the United States. The Keystone XL Pipeline and America's History of Indigenous its plants and animals, and the natural systems on which all life depends. He also signs an order requiring pipelines in the United States to be built with U.S. steel. But, the President must comply with the Treaties, and TC Energy must comply with Rosebud law. Heres everything you need to know about the historic KXL fightand why the pipelines cancellation has had no impact on current oil prices. In late 2018 and early 2019, the courts repeatedly blocked TransCanadas attempts to start construction on the Keystone XL pipeline. September: The Rosebud Sioux Tribe and the Fort Belknap Indian Community, in coordination with their counsel, the Native American Rights Fund, on September 10, 2018, sued the Trump Administration in the U.S. District Court for the District of MT for numerous violations of the law in the Keystone XL pipeline permitting process. President Trumps attempt to circumvent the judicial branch is extremely troubling because he has elevated the profits of a foreign corporation above the will of the American people and the laws of the United States. U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Second Class Lauren Jorgensen. The Keystone XL pipeline would cross the United States border into Montana, then cut through the Great Sioux Reservation, as set forth in the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty, in South Dakota and finally Nebraska to Steele City where the crude would mix with US crude reserves and continue to Texas for export. Though she lives on the Yankton Sioux Reservation of South Dakota, Spotted . The court also noted that the Tribes could file a new suit against the Bureau of Land Management given it has approved the pipeline in the remainder of the United States. People must understand that the Ogalalla Aquifer that this pipeline will cross covers 8 states and waters 30 percent of American crops. Its nasty stuff., A fully realized Keystone XL would have led to more mining of that nasty stuff by accelerating the pace at which its produced and transported. For more than a decade, we've fought to keep this filthy fossil fuel from being dredged up and piped through the United States. December: U.S. legislators pass a bill with a provision saying President Barack Obama must make a decision on the pipelines future in the next 60 days. These sands contain bitumen, a gooey type of petroleum that can be converted into fuel. Five years ago, a pipeline spilled a million gallons of tar sands crude into a Michigan riverand were still cleaning it up. With this construction, workers will descend on the communities along the pipelines proposed path. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Meanwhile, major new tar sands projects stopped moving forward, despite investments from the government of Alberta, Canada. UAB is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer committed to fostering a diverse, equitable and family-friendly environment in which all faculty and staff can excel and achieve work/life balance irrespective of race, national origin, age, genetic or family medical history, gender, faith, gender identity and expression as well as sexual orientation. It would increase mining by accelerating the production and transportation of crude oil. NARF is honored to represent the Rosebud Sioux and Fort Belknap Tribes to fully enforce the laws and fight this illegal pipeline.. When TC Energy said the pipeline would create nearly 119,000 jobs, a State Department report instead concluded the project would require fewer than 2,000 two-year construction jobs and that the number of full-time, permanent jobs would hover around 35 after construction. Read the memo in support of preliminary injunction. It was a political step, having nothing to do with what the law actually requires. They have laws protecting their water and those laws must be respected. TransCanada must comply with Rosebud law. (a) On March 29, 2019, the President granted to TransCanada Keystone Pipeline, L.P. a Presidential permit (the "Permit") to . WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trump greenlighted the long-delayed Keystone XL pipeline on Friday, declaring it a "great day for American jobs" and siding with energy advocates over environmental groups in a heated debate over climate change. Upon entering office, President Trumpwith his pro-polluter cabinet of fossil fuel advocates, billionaires, and bankersquickly demonstrated that his priorities differed. The total for the Keystone pipeline's 2017 gush onto. For tribal lands, the treaties absolutely require this sort of review. When the Tribes negotiated their treaties, they gave millions of acres of land to the United Statesincluding, ironically, the land on which the courthouse now stands. After the District Courts decision, President Trump took the extraordinary step of revoking the original KXL permit issued by the State Department and issuing a new permit himself. update email soon. With President Trumps illegal permit revoked, the Tribes plan to continue their efforts to ensure that TransCanada, and its proposed Keystone XL project, follows all applicable laws that are in place to protect tribal people and ancestral lands. In his recent proclamation, Missing and Murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives Awareness Day, 2019, President Trump declared it imperative to end the violence that disproportionately affects American Indian and Alaska Native communities. filed a federal lawsuit against the United States Department of Interior (DOI) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) over their issuing of the KXL permit, asked the court to grant a temporary restraining order on pipeline construction, the memo in support of preliminary injunction, a response to TransCanadas motion for summary judgment, a memorandum in support of their own motion for partial summary judgment, federal court denied the United States federal governments and the TransCanadas (TC Energy) efforts to dismiss the Tribes case, poured 407, 000 gallonsalmost 3,000,000 poundsof crude oil, much more frequent than TransCanada predicted. Our land, water, and people are under direct threat from the KXL pipeline. How an unlikely coalition of environmental activists stopped the destructive tar sands oil pipeline. Any project that crosses tribal lands must be in compliance with tribal laws and regulations. The cost is too high. Although, TransCanada, now known as TC Energy, has said that it has lost the 2019 construction season for the KXL pipeline, the company has asked the courts to lift the current injunction so that they can immediately begin to build their man-camps and pipe-yards. It was a blatant attempt to prioritize corporate interests over the health and well-being of the regions citizens and tribes authority to govern their lands and protect their citizens. We are ensuring that TC Energy (TransCanada) follows and respects our law. Farmers, ranchers, tribes, and conservation groups helped keep the project stalled for Trumps full four years in office, despite his best efforts to expedite its approval. It celebrated its 40th Anniversary last year, and, even after all this time, is still facing controversy. During this time of uncertainty and crisis, NARF is committed to protecting the health, safety, and rights of Native Americans. Until 2016,Canadaofficially objected to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. One of the central arguments made by pipeline pushers was that tar sands expansion will move forward with or without Keystone XL. It connects Cushing, Oklahoma, to Port Arthur, Texas. Among other things, the complaint describes: NARF Staff Attorney Matthew Campbell explained, Before we allow a foreign company to build another pipeline to haul dirty tar sands across any American soil, we should be taking a hard look at the possible impact on American land, water, health, and safety. The first, a southern leg, had already been completed and now runs between Cushing, Oklahoma, and Port Arthur, Texas. When that failedthanks to a lawsuit brought by NRDC and other groupsTrump reissued the cross-border permit himself. It was proposed to be an extension of the existing Keystone Pipeline System, which has been in operation since 2010. Revoking the March 2019 Permit for the Keystone XL Pipeline. Because it crosses the U.S.-Canada border, Phase 4 does require a Presidential Permit; however, it has been met with opposition since its initial proposal. In granting a permit for the pipeline, the President has ignored his obligation to protect the Rosebud Sioux Tribe in direct violation of the Fort Laramie Treaties of 1851 and 1868, ignored federal right of way and mineral statutes, and ignored basic principles of federal Indian law. This isnt your grandfathers typical oil, says Anthony Swift, director of NRDCs Canada project. We cannot allow another pipeline to be constructed, dangerously close to yet another tribal community, for the benefit of a foreign energy company.. ), It would also have led to greater greenhouse gas emissionswhich, the latest scientific reports makes clear, we simply cant afford if were to avoid the most catastrophic climate impacts. See the open letter from President Kindle for more information on the Rosebud Sioux Tribes position. Keystone pipeline's path cuts across Native American land, history We look forward to working with the new administration to ensure that, going forward, Native peoples are included in decision-making discussions and policy development that affect their land, people, and treaty rights.. Without Keystone XL, the tar sands industry has been forced to cancel projects rather than shift to rail, subsequently leaving more of the earths dirtiest fuel in the ground where it belongs. On his fourth day in office, Trump signed an executive order to allow Keystone XL to move forward. The pipeline threat is gone, but the damage to their property and lives is already done. Phase 2 and 3 did not require Presidential Permits and were built over several years starting in 2010. Opposition to Keystone XL centered on the devastating environmental consequences of the project. The founder of Bold Nebraska has led the Cornhusker States years-long rallying cry against TransCanadas tar sands pipeline. On March 23, 2017, the U.S. Department of State granted TransCanadas permit application and issued it a presidential permit to construct and operate the Keystone XL Pipeline.