NATION/WORLD
Thursday, February 2, 2017
East Oregonian
Review of pipeline could be
beginning of end for opponents
U.S. puts Iran
‘on notice’ after
missile test,
won’t elaborate
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The
Army’s review of a proposal to finish
the Dakota Access pipeline could be the
beginning of the end for opponents who
have been fighting the project for nearly
a year.
But the American Indian tribe at the
center of the debate, the Standing Rock
Sioux, vows to keep battling the pipeline
in court out of fear that an oil leak could
contaminate its drinking water.
Here’s a look at the steps that remain
before the last section of pipe can be laid
and the final options to stop it.
WHAT ARE THE LATEST
DEVELOPMENTS?
On Tuesday, the acting secretary
of the Army ordered a review of an
earlier decision to block the last section
of pipeline from being laid under a
Missouri River reservoir. The move
came just days after President Donald
Trump issued a memo calling for recon-
sideration of the December decision by
the Army Corps of Engineers.
Based on a discussion with the Army
secretary, Robert Speer, Republican
Sen. John Hoeven said Wednesday
that there is no doubt in his mind that
permission to finish the project will be
granted.
A government assessment last
summer determined that the final
segment would not have a significant
effect on the environment. However,
then-Assistant Army Secretary for
Civil Works Jo-Ellen Darcy on Dec.
4 declined to give permission for
construction to begin, saying a broader
environmental study was needed.
The pipeline builder, Energy
Transfer Partners, called Darcy’s deci-
sion politically motivated and accused
then-President Barack Obama’s admin-
istration of delaying the matter until he
left office. Two days before he left the
White House, the Corps launched an
environmental study that could take up
to two years.
WHAT IS THE TRIBE LIKELY
TO DO?
Army attorneys have said the envi-
ronmental study could be withdrawn.
Should that happen, the tribe will
probably challenge the move on two
fronts — that the study is necessary to
preserve tribal treaty rights and that it’s
part of the legal process for obtaining
final permission to finish the pipeline, as
the Army has maintained, according to
tribal attorney Jan Hasselman.
The Army cannot arbitrarily change
its mind because of the change in White
WASHINGTON
(AP) — The White House
issued a cryptic warning
Wednesday that the U.S.
will act against Iran unless
it stops testing ballistic
missiles and supporting
Houthi rebels in Yemen,
but declined to say what
retaliatory actions the U.S.
would pursue.
Michael Flynn,
President Donald Trump’s
national security adviser,
forcefully denounced Iran’s
behavior in his first public
remarks since Trump took
office. He accused Iran
of threatening U.S. allies
and spreading instability
throughout the Middle East
while faulting the Obama
administration for doing
too little to stop the Islamic
Republic.
“As of today, we are
officially putting Iran on
notice,” Flynn said from
the White House podium.
On notice for what,
Flynn didn’t say. Senior
Trump administration
officials said they were
actively considering
a “range of options”
including economic
measures and increased
support for Iran’s regional
adversaries. The officials,
who briefed reporters on
condition of anonymity,
declined repeatedly to say
whether military action
was being considered.
The warning was
an early manifestation
of Trump’s promise
of a tougher American
approach to Iran. Yet
administration officials
emphasized that their
allegations were unrelated
to Iran’s obligations under
the Iran nuclear deal
that President Barack
Obama and world leaders
negotiated. Though Flynn
noted Trump has criticized
that deal, officials declined
to say whether Trump
planned to follow through
on his campaign pledge to
renegotiate it.
AP Photo/David Goldman, File
In this Dec. 3, 2016 file photo, law enforcement vehicles line a road leading
to a blocked bridge next to the Oceti Sakowin camp where people have
gathered to protest the Dakota Access oil pipeline in Cannon Ball, N.D.
House administrations, said Monte
Mills, co-director of the University of
Montana’s Indian law clinic.
Given that the Army said in
December that an environmental study
was necessary, Mills said, the Army
would have to explain how its new
decision was consistent with the legal
standards it used in December and how
there’s a reasonable basis for change.
Otherwise the tribe could argue the
reversal was “arbitrary and capricious,”
in violation of federal law, he said.
But Connie Rogers, a Denver
attorney who specializes in federal
permits, natural resources and Indian
law, said the Army does have the discre-
tion to change its mind. Since the orig-
inal environmental assessment found
nothing that would require an additional
study, the Army was not required by law
to order the fuller review and therefore
can reverse course, she said.
WHAT
ABOUT
TREATY
RIGHTS?
The tribe says under the Fort Laramie
Treaties of 1851 and 1868, the federal
government is obliged to consider a
tribe’s welfare when making decisions
affecting the tribe.
That would be one likely argument
against the Corps withdrawing the
environmental study that the tribe has
repeatedly demanded, Hasselman said.
Tribes have effectively used old
treaty rights in other high-profile court
cases. For example, a landmark ruling in
Washington state in 1974 affirmed tribal
fishing rights in treaties stemming from
the 1850s.
“Without question, treaties, espe-
cially during modern times, have proven
to be very successful legal vehicles for
tribes in defense of existential threats,”
said Gabriel Galanda, a Seattle lawyer
who represents tribes throughout the
West.
When the Corps published a notice
last month in the Federal Register, the
agency explained that it was looking
for a better understanding of how the
pipeline would affect treaty rights. If the
government isn’t going to look at those
rights now, Mills said, it will have to
explain why.
LOOKING
AHEAD
FOR
OTHER LEGAL OPTIONS
Should the Corps give permission
to build the last piece of the pipeline,
the tribe would immediately ask U.S.
District Judge James Boasberg to
temporarily ban construction while the
issues are decided, Hasselman said.
The builder would probably fight
that, and the tribe would have to clear “a
high bar” to convince the judge.
But other options to challenge the
project remain. In a lawsuit it filed
last year, the tribe alleges that the
government broke environmental law
by approving the pipeline’s crossing of
numerous waterways, and “the remedy
is to turn off the pipeline,” Hasselman
said.
Page 9A
BRIEFLY
Trump threatens
Mexico over ‘bad
hombres’
WASHINGTON
(AP) — President Donald
Trump threatened in
a phone call with his
Mexican counterpart to
send U.S. troops to stop
“bad hombres down
there” unless the Mexican
military does more to
control them, according to
an excerpt of a transcript of
the conversation obtained
by The Associated Press.
The excerpt of the call
did not detail who exactly
Trump considered “bad
hombres,” nor did it make
clear the tone and context
of the remark, made in a
Friday morning phone call
between the leaders. It also
did not contain Mexican
President Enrique Pena
Nieto’s response. Mexico
denies that Trump made
the threat.
Still, the excerpt offers
a rare and striking look
at how the new president
is conducting diplomacy
behind closed doors.
Trump’s remarks suggest
he is using the same tough
and blunt talk with world
leaders that he used to rally
crowds in the campaign.
The phone call between
the leaders was intended
to patch things up between
the new president and his
ally. The two have had a
series of public spats over
Trump’s determination
to have Mexico pay for
the planned border wall,
something Mexico refuses
to agree to.
“You have a bunch of
bad hombres down there,”
Trump told Pena Nieto,
according to the excerpt
given to AP. “You aren’t
doing enough to stop them.
I think your military is
scared. Our military isn’t,
so I just might send them
down to take care of it.”
A Mexican media
outlet published a similar
account of the phone
call. The report described
Trump as humiliating Pena
Nieto in a confrontational
conversation.
HOME INSULATION AND ASSOCIATES
We have been in business for 40 years servicing
Pendleton and the surrounding areas.
Pendleton's
Economic Outlook
High-Quality
Luncheon
Insulation Services
You can rely on the skilled and
competent professionals at Home
Insulation & Associates, Inc. for
exceptional insulation services.
• New Construction Insulation
• Retro-Fit Insulation
• Gutter & Downspouts
February 22, 2017 • 11:30- 1:30
Pendleton Convention Center
Tickets: Chamber Members $25
All Others $30
Call (541) 276-7411 to Purchase
Featuring:
Dr. Bill Conerly, Ph.D., Economist,
Conerly Consulting LLC
Jeff Lorton, Creative Director,
The Duke Joseph Agency
John Audley, Principal, John Audley
Consulting, State of Affairs in Oregon
Presented By:
Pendleton Chamber of Commerce
541.276.1897
homeinsulationassociates.com • homeinsulationrex@gmail.com
CCB# 24526
Silver Sponsor
Bronze Sponsor
Mike & Jill Thorne