WELP: Trump Signs Order To Build Hugely Controversial Dakota Access Pipeline

You might remember the Dakota pipeline as the one which stirred a mass protest last year led by Native American activists who argued that the path of the pipeline threatened the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe‘s water supply and sacred sites. The Army Corp of Engineers declined to work on the project until an alternate path was found.

Now, Trump has signed an order giving the conditional go-ahead to both projects.

Signing orders to move forward with the construction of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines in the Oval Office. pic.twitter.com/OErGmbBvYK

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 24, 2017

The response was immediate. Dave Archambault, chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, criticised the move. “We are not opposed to energy independence,” he said. “We are opposed to reckless and politically motivated development projects that ignore our treaty rights and risk our water.”

A statement was also issued on the tribe’s Facebook, arguing that they will fight this in court:

Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s statement on Trump’s allowing the Dakota Access pipeline to proceed: https://t.co/33dbmkAwTh pic.twitter.com/5bTK8mI37F

— Matt Pearce (@mattdpearce) January 24, 2017

A question was asked of Press Secretary Sean Spicer in a briefing after Trump signed the paperwork asking about a potential conflict of interest, given that Trump owns stock in a company associated with the pipeline. In the form we’ve come to expect of Spicer, he deflected the question, said Trump “can’t have conflicts of interest” and implied that a small stock investment for a multibillionaire can’t actually be a conflict of interest at all.

On whether Dakota, Keystone pipelines would benefit Pres. Trump financially, Press Sec. Spicer says “by law, he can’t have conflicts” pic.twitter.com/6GSXTKwu9X

— CBS News (@CBSNews) January 24, 2017

We’ll see how this goes – but it doesn’t look good for the people who fought so hard at Standing Rock.