Energy

Enviros Hope To Stop A Major Oil Pipeline By … Walking

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A small group of environmentalists will walk nearly 100 miles, hoping to bring attention to its opposition of the Dakota Access Pipeline.

A group of about two dozen activists began a long walk Saturday. Their route, which will stretch almost 100 miles, began in Des Moines and will end in Fort Dodge, Iowa, lasting a total of eight days. The monumental trek, organized by Bold Iowa, is meant to be a sign of protest against the Dakota Access Pipeline, a $3.8 billion crude oil pipeline that runs through North Dakota, South Dakota, Illinois and Iowa.

“It could lead to a potential break and poison our water,” Regina Tsosie said of the pipeline, according to the Des Moines Register. “But it also has desecrated our sacred sites.” Tsosie serves as the president of the Native American Coalition of the Quad Cities and co-founder of Sage Sisters, organizations that are allied with Bold Iowa.

Marchers met in front of the Iowa Utilities Board office Saturday morning before they began their long walk. Participating members don’t plan to walk the whole thing at once, but will cover 10 to 15 miles a day. The leader of Bold Iowa, Ed Fallon, said not everyone who began the march will finish.

“I’d say half of that group are on for the entire march, but there are people coming and going,” he explained, according to the Des Moines Register.

Bold Iowa, according to its website, was established in March 2016 to fight the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline. Its march is meant to raise awareness of a Sierra Club-led lawsuit again the Iowa Utilities Board for allowing the Energy Transfer Partners — the owners of Dakota Access — to use eminent domain during construction. The environmental group is soliciting donations so “sponsor” their marchers.

Former President Barack Obama gave environmentalists a victory when he blocked construction of the nearly 1,200-mile crude oil pipeline in 2015. However, those celebrations were squashed when President Donald Trump green-lighted the project’s immediacy after taking office in January 2017.

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