Construction of Dakota Access Pipeline Has Been Completed Outside of Lake Oahe Crossing

This afternoon a press release dropped into my inbox from the folks at Dakota Access Pipeline. Their intent is to correct the record on a release sent out by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, apparently by accident, indicating that the company would voluntarily be stopping construction.

DAPL says they have no intention of voluntarily stopping construction, because construction has been completed and they’re now readying to bore under the Lake Oahe reservoir as soon as the Corps give sits go-ahead.

“To be clear, Dakota Access Pipeline has not voluntarily agreed to halt construction of the pipeline in North Dakota,” the release, which you can read in full below, states. “Dakota Access has now completed construction of the pipeline on each side of Lake Oahe and is currently mobilizing horizontal drilling equipment to the drill box site in preparation for the tunneling under Lake Oahe.  Dakota Access expects that its mobilization of equipment will be completed over the next two weeks and that it will commence drilling activities upon completion of mobilization.”

This jibes with a photo I posted yesterday which I received from a SAB reader with access to the pipeline construction corridor. It showed workers celebrating what was apparently the last piece of pipe to be laid before the Oahe crossing:

This would seem to render the complaints of #NoDAPL protesters moot. They claim that the pipeline will disturb graves and other artifacts – while claims for which they have presented zero evidence – but the construction of the pipeline is complete. All that’s left now is for the federal government to approve crossing under Lake Oahe.

The Obama administration has put a political obstruction in the way of that approval for now. I guess we’ll see what impact, if any, the election tonight has on that.

Per the release, DAPL thinks it will happen: “Dakota Access remains confident that it will receive the easement for these two strips of land adjacent to Lake Oahe in a time frame that will not result in any significant delay in proceeding with drilling activities under Lake Oahe.  Dakota Access previously received a permit from the Army Corps with respect the tunneling activities under Lake Oahe and Dakota Access has all other regulatory approvals and land rights to complete the crossing of the Missouri River at Lake Oahe.”

Here’s the full release:

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