In December of 2014, a company called Energy Transfer Partners LP proposed the plan to make a pipeline, formally called the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL). The pipeline was planned to span across four states, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, and Illinois, and would cost an estimated $3.78 billion to complete (Miller). The purpose of the pipeline is to carry 570,000 barrels of crude oil per day from two oil sites, Bakken and Three Forks, to an oil tank farm near Patoka, Illinois. Though the pipeline brought in many jobs during the construction, it requires only a handful of individuals to maintain. The decisions made by Energy Transfer Partners were a result of careful planning and (mostly) consideration for others. The company used safe
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The tribe was worried about the effects the pipeline may have on the environment. Along its path, the pipeline passes through an area where the Standing Rock Sioux tribe gets their water. The tribe began to protest, and eventually gained national recognition. These protesters even got enough backing to sue the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to (hopefully) end construction of the pipeline. In June of 2017, a federal judge ruled in favor of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, on the basis that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had failed to properly study the pipeline’s environmental consequences when it was first approved for construction. As a result of this case, the judge did not even suspend the operation of the pipeline, and the pipeline was left operational while the issue was solved. The protesters had mixed feelings about the result. On one hand, they managed to gain national attention and show there is a legitimate concern about the environmental impacts of a pipeline. On the other, there was nothing done to stop or even solve the looming problem, instead the company got more of a “slap on the wrist” and got off with a warning (Meyer). This means the required study will likely not alter the outcome of the case, or mandate the pipeline be shut …show more content…
Pipeline Design for Installation by Horizontal Directional Drilling, by Eric R. Skonberg and Tennyson M. Muindi, is all about this process of HDD. In the book, it is stated “HDD offers much less impact than other methods on the environment and surrounding infrastructure,” (Skonberg, 45). In addition, the pipeline is inspected weekly to make sure there are no defects. The process consist of two sites, one on each side of the body of water. Before drilling commences, the team takes core samples from the ground to figure out the ideal depth for the pipeline to be. Once the ideal depth has been found, drilling can begin. The entry side is where the drill bit enters the ground and begins to cut a tunnel underground. To carry debris out or the tunnel, a fluid composed of fresh water, bentonite, and benign polymers. All these materials are environmentally safe to use, and provide lubrication to the drill bit as well as stability to the hole being drilled (Skonberg, 45-47). It should also be noted that underground pipelines are 3.4-4.5 times safer than transporting the oil by railways and 34 times safer than transporting it by trucks, as reported by federal statistics (Dakota
The tribe was worried about the effects the pipeline may have on the environment. Along its path, the pipeline passes through an area where the Standing Rock Sioux tribe gets their water. The tribe began to protest, and eventually gained national recognition. These protesters even got enough backing to sue the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to (hopefully) end construction of the pipeline. In June of 2017, a federal judge ruled in favor of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, on the basis that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had failed to properly study the pipeline’s environmental consequences when it was first approved for construction. As a result of this case, the judge did not even suspend the operation of the pipeline, and the pipeline was left operational while the issue was solved. The protesters had mixed feelings about the result. On one hand, they managed to gain national attention and show there is a legitimate concern about the environmental impacts of a pipeline. On the other, there was nothing done to stop or even solve the looming problem, instead the company got more of a “slap on the wrist” and got off with a warning (Meyer). This means the required study will likely not alter the outcome of the case, or mandate the pipeline be shut …show more content…
Pipeline Design for Installation by Horizontal Directional Drilling, by Eric R. Skonberg and Tennyson M. Muindi, is all about this process of HDD. In the book, it is stated “HDD offers much less impact than other methods on the environment and surrounding infrastructure,” (Skonberg, 45). In addition, the pipeline is inspected weekly to make sure there are no defects. The process consist of two sites, one on each side of the body of water. Before drilling commences, the team takes core samples from the ground to figure out the ideal depth for the pipeline to be. Once the ideal depth has been found, drilling can begin. The entry side is where the drill bit enters the ground and begins to cut a tunnel underground. To carry debris out or the tunnel, a fluid composed of fresh water, bentonite, and benign polymers. All these materials are environmentally safe to use, and provide lubrication to the drill bit as well as stability to the hole being drilled (Skonberg, 45-47). It should also be noted that underground pipelines are 3.4-4.5 times safer than transporting the oil by railways and 34 times safer than transporting it by trucks, as reported by federal statistics (Dakota