Dear NRDC Activist,

You might remember news coverage, photos, and videos of Indigenous water protectors and allies at Standing Rock during the heart-wrenching protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) back in 2016. While advocates were ultimately unable to stop DAPL’s construction, the fight against the pipeline’s operation continues for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe — and we’re calling on you to stand with them.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has released its court-ordered draft Environmental Impact Statement, which assesses the risks of DAPL and a potential oil spill resulting from its operation. But the assessment is critically flawed — it dismisses tribal rights, fails to adequately consider the immense value of Lake Oahe and the Missouri River to the Tribe, and does not tally the true costs of the risk of a potential oil spill.

The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe fervently rejects the current draft and is demanding a new version that addresses these issues, and is prepared in meaningful consultation with the Tribe’s leadership. A new assessment that includes the impacts this dirty pipeline has on the environment and the Tribe's cultural resources is crucial in the fight to stop DAPL. Without one, DAPL may be permitted to continue operating while endangering water sources, ecosystems, and the Tribe’s land.

The Army Corps is inviting comments on its disastrous assessment until November 13 — so now is our best chance to mobilize massive public opposition to their flawed evaluation.

Will you join the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and submit a comment to the US Army Corps of Engineers and urge them to assess the real costs of this dangerous and dirty pipeline?!

Today, the Dakota Access Pipeline transports up to 750,000 barrels of crude oil a day from North Dakota across the country to Illinois. Each day it continues to operate, it violates Indigenous sovereignty and treaty rights and poses a constant threat to crucial water sources for the Standing Rock Sioux and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribes – all while transporting the dirty fossil fuels that are poisoning our air and driving climate change.

Central to this struggle is Lake Oahe, a dammed part of the Missouri River, which is a sacred body of water providing life and sustenance to numerous populations. DAPL runs beneath Lake Oahe carrying the constant threat of oil spills. A breach could desecrate sacred tribal lands, devastate local ecosystems, and poison a critical water supply.

Despite these dire consequences of a potential spill, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has failed to adequately account for these risks and the value Lake Oahe and the Missouri River have for Tribal groups in their draft EIS.

You can use your voice and join the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in this fight by submitting a comment to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers today.

Sincerely,

Brett Jacobson
Digital Campaigns Manager, NRDC