The Biden administration began with a flurry of executive orders. Many of them were questionable at best, and some have resulted in lawsuits against the administration. One executive order shut down the Dakota Access Pipeline.\u00a0 Is is possible that the decision will be revisited?<\/p>\n
Yesterday The Hill<\/a> reported the following:<\/p>\n The Biden administration could decide Friday whether or not it is up to them to shut down the Dakota Access Pipeline.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n In January,\u00a0a federal appeals court determined<\/a> that the government did not adequately evaluate the environmental impacts of a 2017 easement that enabled the pipeline\u2019s construction, and ordered the government to do a more robust analysis.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n The closely watched\u00a0question\u00a0on whether to stop the pipeline\u2019s operations during this process\u00a0is politically fraught, as\u00a0as progressives have called for a shut down, while conservatives want to keep its oil flowing.<\/strong><\/p>\n It may be that the only way to deal with the overreach of the Biden administration is through the courts.<\/p>\n The article notes that any decision is going to make someone unhappy:<\/p>\n Biden is facing pressure from both the left and right on the issue.<\/strong><\/p>\n The pipeline\u2019s critics say that it violates tribal treaty rights, while supporters argue that it helps transport U.S. energy.<\/strong><\/p>\n Thirty-three Democrats recently wrote to Biden saying he should stop the pipeline from carrying crude oil between North Dakota and Illinois.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cBy shutting down this illegal pipeline, you can continue to show your administration values the environment and the rights of Indigenous communities more than the profits of outdated fossil fuel industries,\u201d they wrote.<\/strong><\/p>\n Indigenous activists and celebrities have also recently urged the administration to do the same.<\/strong><\/p>\n Meanwhile, congressional Republicans are supportive of the pipeline, and would likely push back on any moves to disrupt it.<\/strong><\/p>\n The article concludes:<\/p>\n “The Army Corps of Engineers should be allowed to proceed as they are without political interference from the Biden Administration,\u201d Sen. Kevin Cramer<\/a><\/span> (R-N.D.) said in a statement in January. \u201cThis is not another opportunity to wage war on North Dakota\u2019s energy producers.”<\/strong><\/p>\n Republicans have staunchly criticized other recent moves made by the administration on energy, including the revocation of a border-crossing permit for the Keystone pipeline and temporary pause on new oil and gas leases on federal lands.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n The Biden administration might want to consider the consequences of giving up the energy independence America achieved during the Trump administration. Many Americans are old enough to remember the oil embargo of the 1970’s and are not interested in repeating the chaos that resulted from it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Biden administration began with a flurry of executive orders. Many of them were questionable at best, and some have resulted in lawsuits against the administration. One executive order shut down the Dakota Access Pipeline.\u00a0 Is is possible that the … Continue reading