Potential Spill on Bakken Dakota Access Pipeline Platform

Newly obtained drone footage from November 27 shows a possible spill of undetermined type on the Bakken Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) drill platform just above the Missouri River in Morton County, North Dakota.

A large amount of unknown liquid appears to have poured directly from the bottom of a blue, rectangular, liquid holding tank.

Drill pads have numerous toxic, caustic, and environmentally damaging chemicals as well as water. Chemicals on the drill pads are used to soften rock, lubricate parts, and maintain equipment.

The spill is located just feet above Oceti Sakowin Camp, the largest of the Standing Rock Water Protector camps. The spill is also feet above the Missouri River, the primary water source for the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation.

Kitchens of Isis - The New York Times Just Does Not Get Standing Rock

I am an embedded front line journalist at Standing Rock. During my eleven weeks on the ground I have been tear gassed and maced. I cannot tell you how many LRAD attacks I experienced. Smoke and concussion grenades have been used on me or near me. I have been soaked with water in sub-freezing temperatures. Police shot at me with rubber bullets and bean bags. My belongings were searched. My car has been impounded twice. I have been seriously injured. People have been hurt protecting me. DAPL security and police have chased me. 

On the 15^th I was nearly killed by police covering Standing Rock. The police opened fire into a car and attempted to shoot at it as it drove away. I was standing on the other side of the car filming and the car narrowly avoided splatifying me as they fled the hail of bullets. All after I was maced and chased in a sprint by unhinged officers for daring to cover the story.

Other press members have been attacked, arrested, strip searched and beaten. Some struggle with PTSD symptoms. Their data has been stolen by police and used in prosecutions. We have been targeted by police.

We do it with only the money people online give us.

When the New York Time’s article on the kitchens of Standing Rock, Squash, Rice and Roadkill: Feeding the Fighters of Standing Rock, came across my feed, I was flabbergasted and enraged. With all the resources at the New York times, the best NYT has to offer the public understanding is not about the near death experiences, police brutality, beatings, strip searches, U.N.’s investigation, surveillance, over charging, or press attacks – it is the kitchen.

NYT sent a reporter to a war zone and covered the mess halls. Gee – I cannot wait for NYT’s coverage of the kitchens of ISIS.

Ambulances and Free Speech - Understanding the Governor's Evacuation Order

Photo by Rob Wilson

North Dakota Governor Jack Dalrymple has issued a sweeping executive order to immediately evict people from the Anti-Dakota Access Pipeline Water Protector camp near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation and deny basic emergency services like ambulances to the camp. The order also criminalizes supporting the camp or its residents. The eviction is labeled an evacuation and is justified as a safety measure to protect the camp’s residents from the harsh North Dakota winter.

Setting the State:

The largest Water Protector camp, Oceti Sakowin, is on contested land of which the Army Corps of Engineers and the Sioux both claim ownership. On November 25, the Army Corps of Engineers issued an order to close the camp and evict the residents on December 5, 2016. It requires residents to leave, and the property be closed to the public. They suggest moving the camp to a free speech zone less than a mile away in Cannon Ball, North Dakota. It was justified as an emergency evacuation order to protect residents of the camp from the North Dakota winter.

On November 27, the Army Corps of Engineers announced in a letter that they have no plans to use force to get Water Protectors out of Oceti Sakowin Camp stating, “The Army Corps of Engineers is seeking a peaceful and orderly transition to a safer location, and has no plans for forcible removal.” 

In response to the Army Corps of Engineer’s follow up statement, Governor Dalrymple said, "When you put out a pronouncement that people must leave your land by a certain date, I think you take on a responsibility to somehow bring that about."

On November 28, Governor Dalrymple issued his executive order.

The Order:  

DAPL is Not Dead

  Photo by Rob Wilson

Celebratory drumming and singing rang out from Standing Rock Water Protector camps when the Army Corps of Engineers denied Energy Transfer Partnership the easement to drill under the Missouri River just 2,400 feet from the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, stalling the Dakota Access Pipeline. Crying people exclaimed, “It’s over.” Joyful expression is warranted, it is a major triumph against the pipeline but the tearful heart-songs are wrong, the fight is not over.

The internet exploded in celebratory headlines, articles, and social media posts minutes after the pipeline announcement by Jo-Ellen Darcy, the Army's Assistant Secretary for Civil Works.

The New York Times chimed in with, “Army Blocks Drilling of Dakota Access Oil Pipeline.”

CNN’s Facebook page rejoiced, “BREAKING NEWS: A true victory for protestors, construction of Dakota Access Pipeline to be re-routed http://cnn.it/2gRaQGl”

Bipartisanreport.com went even further, “BREAKING: Dakota Access Pipeline IS DEAD, U.S. Government Says NO WAY (DETAILS)”

The big problem is – it’s not even close to true.