CANNON BALL, N.D. – With the green light from the federal government, the company building the Dakota Access oil pipeline said Wednesday it plans to resume work immediately to finish the long-stalled project.
The Army on Wednesday granted the developer of the four-state oil pipeline formal permission to lay pipe under a Missouri River reservoir in North Dakota, clearing the way for completion of the disputed project.
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Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners began work late Wednesday after getting final permission from the Army to proceed with a crossing of the Missouri River in southern North Dakota. Company spokeswoman Vicki Granado says work commenced immediately after the company received permission.
The work had been stalled for months due to opposition by the Standing Rock Sioux, but President Donald Trump last month instructed the Army Corps of Engineers to advance pipeline construction. The proposed route skirts the Standing Rock Sioux tribe’s reservation and crosses under Lake Oahe, a Missouri River reservoir in North Dakota that serves as the tribe’s drinking water source.
ETP says the pipeline is safe. Opponents of the project held demonstrations Wednesday in several cities, including Chicago, New York and Washington, D.C.
