Pipeline Note #1: Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and Army Corps of Engineers Seek Dismissal of Energy Transfer Partners Litigation on Dakota Access Pipeline
Today, the Standing Rock Sioux Indian Tribe (through their counsel, EarthJustice) and the Army Corps of Engineers (through counsel, U.S. Department of Justice) have answered Energy Transfer Partners motion in DC District Court before Judge seeking a grant of the easement for the Dakota Access Pipeline to cross Lake Oahe on the Missouri River.
Both the Tribe and the Army Corp also filed counter motions for summary judgement and dismissal of Energy Transfer Partners motion seeking the easement. Here are the pleadings filed today with Federal DC District Judge James Boasberg by Standing Rock and the Army Corps of Engineers:
earthjustice.org/…
earthjustice.org/…
Because both pleadings involve new countermotions for dismissal of the Energy Transfer Partners (ETP) motion, ETP will have the opportunity to respond under the federal court rules and Judge Boasberg will rule on all of the motions by all parties after ETP’s response is filed with the Court. This future ruling is unlikely to happen before January 20 when Lying Trump takes office. Judge Boasberg previously asked the Department of Justice to inform him if the Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of Justice change their positions in the matter.
The pleadings seeking a dismissal of ETPs motion request on the DAPL easement claim that imputation of an easement cannot be found in the Army Corps of Engineers granting of a Rivers and Harbors Act permit already issued by the Army Corps and that the Court is without jurisdiction to review the Army Corps decision to seek environmental impact review and consideration of alternative routing of DAPL across the Missouri River.
The Army Corps did not revoke the Rivers and Harbors Permit issued for DAPL for the Lake Oahe crossing in July, 2016. In addition, the Army Corps press release and internal memorandum calling for a route reevaluation and EIA review has not yet been published as a formal notice seeking to re-open the routing review and environmental impact review in the Federal Register and only 9-10 business days remain before the Lying Trump inauguration when many such previous Army Corps decisions could be reversed by the new administration.
Here is some of today’s news coverage on the pleadings filed by Standing Rock and the Army Corps:
www.yahoo.com/…
www.waff.com/...
Pipeline Note #2: Bad River Chippewa Indian Tribe Denies Right of Way Authorization Renewal for Enbridge Line 5 and Seeks Decommissioning and Removal of Line 5 in Bad River Reservation Territory
The Bad River Chippewa Indian Tribe recently voted to turn down a pipeline easement reauthorization for the 64 year old Enbridge Line 5 and the Tribe wants Enbridge to physically remove Line 5 from the Reservation. The Bad River Reservation is located in Northern Wisconsin and is transected by at least 3 long distance transmission pipelines for crude oil and natural gas.
This map shows hydrocarbon pipelines running through the Bad River Reservation:
Line 5 runs from Superior, WI through northern Wisconsin and Northern Michigan to Sarnia, Ontario. The pipeline delivers light sweet crude oil, synthetic light crude oil from tar sands derivatives, natural gas liquids and propane. It supplies crude oil to the Marathon Detroit Refinery and refineries in Ontario, and is used to ship oil produced in Michigan.
Pipeline Note #3: Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration Review the 64 Year Old Mackinac Straits Segments of Enbridge Line 5
Oak Ridge National Laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy and the
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration of the U.S Department of
Transportation have conducted an engineering review of the
Enbridge Line 5 segments and their pipeline integrity at the Mackinac Straits:
Reaction from the Michigan Oil and Gas Association:
When I have a chance to review the Oak Ridge/PHMSA pipeline integrity report in detail on the Mackinac Straits segments [2 five mile long 20 inch diameter pipes with 0.8 inch wall thickness], I’ll be publishing additional analysis and commentary on those segments.
Pipeline Note #4: National Wildlife Federation Files Lawsuit Against Department of Transportation and Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration Over Failure to Have Spill Remediation Response and Countermeasures for Enbridge Line 5 in Michigan
The National Wildlife Federation filed a lawsuit over Enbridge Line 5
4 days ago against the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Pipeline
and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration over the matter of oil spill
contingency and response plans:
I couldn't locate a current news release from NWF on the present federal court filing. Here
is NWF's previously announced release over the matter of the failure of the Department of
Transportation to have spill contingency plans in place..
..I'm not sure if the recent filing
reflects this past announced intent to sue or covers a different matter. There were some previous disputes about whether such litigation should be in the DC District Court or in Federal District Court in Michigan.
Pipeline Note #5: PHMSA Issues Advisory on Pipeline Security and Recent National Sabotage Incidents
The blog, pipelinelaw.com…..
www.pipelinelaw.com/…
…..published an article noting that the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration has issued an advisory prompted by the October, 2016 incident in which so-called “direct actions” were carried out against 4-5 major import pipeline operations in the United States by the group, Climate Direct Action.
www.pipelinelaw.com/…
PHMSA’s anti-pipeline-sabotage advisory:
www.pipelinelaw.com/…
Addressing the October, 2016 incident:
www.pipelinelaw.com/…
Climate direct action is a nonprofit organization dedicated to such sabotage attempts which should probably have their non-profit status rescinded by the Internal Revenue Service for operating a charity which engages in criminal conduct.