The lobbying group representing the oil industry wants to see the rule of law upheld in a court case over the future of a controversial pipeline in North Dakota.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Robin Rorick, director of the American Petroleum Institute’s midstream group, that oversees transportation issues, said construction on the Dakota Access oil pipeline should be allowed to continue. Rorick said the pipeline went through the proper permitting process, which he described as “open and transparent.”
Pipeline construction has been temporarily halted by the Obama administration over concerns from the Standing Rock Sioux tribe. The tribe says the pipeline would cross under a reservoir used for their drinking water and would disturb ancient artifacts that are important to the tribe.
“What we’re discussing here is a process that’s in place and was followed,” Rorick said. “I don’t think it was appropriate to hold this project hostage for an issue that may be discussed in the future.”
The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments over an emergency work stoppage issued last month by the administration. The court has not signaled when a decision could be made, though Rorick said the American Petroleum Institute would like to have one soon.
A federal judge ruled last month that construction on the pipeline could proceed, but the Obama administration put a temporary stop on the disputed crossing at Lake Oahe, spanning the Dakotas border, asking construction companies to stop building the pipeline for 20 miles in either direction.
The Departments of Justice and Interior and the Army Corps of Engineers issued a joint statement saying they would not allow construction of the pipeline on Corps land until it determines if any previous decisions on its construction must be reviewed.
The decision has halted construction of the 1,172-mile pipeline that would run from North Dakota to Illinois. The pipeline is expected to transport about 470,000 barrels of crude oil per day when completed.
Five major labor unions wrote a letter to President Obama this week asking for construction on the pipeline to continue, saying that the stoppage is hurting the 8,000 people working on the pipeline. They also point out that the project followed the proper procedures.
The pipeline was “lawfully permitted and approved earlier this year after more than two years of review by the states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and Illinois as well as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It obtained more than 200 required permits and hundreds of easements for private and public lands. The regulatory review process allowed for project supporters and opponents alike to share their views at numerous public hearings held along the pipeline route as well as through comments submitted to the state and federal dockets,” the letter said.
The letter was signed by the presidents of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, International Union of Operating Engineers, Laborers’ International Union of North America, United Association and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
The Obama administration determined the activism by the tribe and its supporters merited a discussion about how the pipeline’s path was chosen.
Rorick said the oil group welcomed that discussion, but it shouldn’t affect the Dakota Access pipeline. The Standing Rock Sioux was found by a federal judge to have not participated in the public comment portion of the permitting process.
“If we enter into that broader discussion about permitting, about tribal consultation, we’ll reassess,” he said.
