Mar 15, 2017 - Construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline Could Bring North Dakota $100M Per Year

North Dakota is set to gain up to $100 million per year from the construction of the Dakota Access pipeline. According to North Dakota Tax Commissioner Ryan Rauschenberger, the state will gain the additional tax revenue due in part to savings from transportation costs.

The 1,172-mile long pipeline, which has drawn international opposition by supporters of water protectors at the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, has the capacity to transport up to 570,000 barrels per day.

Currently, Bakken crude is transported largely by rail, which is a more expensive form of transportation. The completed pipeline will save oil companies roughly $3 per barrel, generating increased tax revenue for the state due to the increased capacity of transported oil and the lowering of the costs to transport the oil.

Drilling is still taking place on the final phase of the pipeline, the hotly contested area underneath Lake Oahe on the Missouri River.

Despite a recent executive order by the Trump administration to complete the pipeline, in addition to reviving the Keystone XL pipeline, water protectors continue to organize in opposition to its construction.

Taking the lead of organizers in Seattle, many communities have started similar campaigns to divest from the finical institutions backing the pipeline.

Additionally, a lawsuit has been filed, Jumping Eagle vs US, challenging the pipeline on grounds on its ecological risks and threats to human health.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uc294bCqTOk

On March 10th, mass actions were held across Turtle Island opposing the Dakota Access pipeline and numerous other proposed projects slated to impact Indian Country.

Seattle, WA

Photo by Erika Berg