CEO DATELINE - Business groups decry North Dakota pipeline decision
CEO DATELINE - Business groups decry North Dakota pipeline decision
- December 5, 2016 |
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Walt Williams
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At least three business groups blasted the Obama administration for denying a crucial permit for construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline and urged President-elect Donald Trump to overturn the decision once in office.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced Sunday it would not grant an easement needed for the pipeline to cross the Missouri River at Lake Oahe in North Dakota. The site has been the center of protests by environmentalists and Native Americans who fear the project could damage sacred Native American sites and potentially pollute the major water source for the nearby Standing Rock Indian Reservation.
While protestors celebrated the decision, American Petroleum Institute CEO Jack Gerald issued a statement accusing the Obama administration of "putting politics over sound public policy and ignoring the rule of law."
"In just over one month, a new president and new administration can stand up for American consumers and American workers by approving this critical project," Gerald said, referring to Trump's coming inauguration. "Following the rule of law in the regulatory process is critical for this and other infrastructure projects including roads, bridges, and electricity transmission lines."
National Association of Manufacturers CEO Jay Timmons also urged the incoming president to reverse the decision.
"We can only hope that President-elect Trump will stand by his promises to invest aggressively in new infrastructure in America and start by overturning this misguided decision and allow the completion of the pipeline," Timmons said.
Karen Harbert, CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Institute for 21st Century Energy, said the ruling showed that under the Obama administration "if your special interest-funded protest is loud enough and has enough celebrities tweeting their support, then the rule of law and the facts no longer matter."
"Just as it did when it denied the Keystone XL pipeline, the administration is ignoring logic and an extensive review process in favor of extreme ideology," she said.
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