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Thoughts on the North Dakota pipeline

https://m.facebook.com/notes/scott-gates/on-the-standing-rock-tribes-dakota-pipeline-protest-/10154529600627457/

Read this and get back to me. I'm fairly certain it points out the inlet's use will be discontinued in the near future if it hasn't been already. But even if it isn't discontinued the safety measures they have in place, which I outlined in my post above should be enough. Like I said, this isn't the first pipeline to traverse a river. If these guys didn't know what they were doing we'd be hearing about pipeline leaks left and right.

 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_pipeline_accidents_in_the_United_States_in_the_21st_century#2016

  • 2015
     
     
     
  • On January 14, during work to free a trapped inline inspection unit, a leak was discovered on the Evangeline Pipeline, near Cameron Parish, Louisiana. This pipeline had been given a Corrective Action Order in October 2014, due to a number of leaks.[512][513][514]
     
     
     
  • Also on January 14, a gas pipeline exploded near the Ross Barnett Reservoir in Brandon, Mississippi, creating a sizable crater in the ground and burning 6 acres of vegetation before the fire was extinguished. No injuries were reported. The failure was due to a "hard spot" from manufacturing, that already had a repair sleeve on it. There are 788 sleeves on the Index 129 pipeline from Edna, Texas, to Sterlington, Louisiana; and, 726 sleeves on the Index 130 pipeline from Marchand Junction, Louisiana to Kosciusko, Mississippi. Both were built from pipe made in 1952.[515][516][517]
     
     
     
  • On January 16, a transmission pipeline operated by Kinder Morgan subsidiary Southern Natural Gas had an equipment malfunction in Walthall County, Mississippi.[518]
     
     
     
  • On January 17, oil from a broken pipeline seeped into the Yellowstone River, and contaminated the water supply 10 miles south of Glendive, Montana. The release was from Bridger Pipeline LLC's 12-inch Poplar line, which can carry 42,000 barrels a day of crude from the Bakken formation and runs from Canada south to Baker, Montana. Bridger Pipeline is a subsidiary of True Cos., a privately held Wyoming-based company. The company said in a statement that the pipeline was shut down within an hour of the leak. About 30,000 gallons of crude was spilled, with about 28,000 gallons of crude being lost.[519][520][521]
     
     
     
  • On January 21, a petroleum products pipeline in Honolulu, Hawaii ruptured, due to external corrosion, spilling about 42,000 gallons of petroleum product, of which about 22,000 gallons was lost.[522]
     
     
     
  • On January 21, a crude oil pipeline pump station caught fire northwest of Texas City, Texas. Texas City fire officials said that company officials reported that there had been issues with the pump station over the weekend.[523]
     
     
     
  • On January 26, a 20-inch ATEX pipeline carrying ethane exploded and burned in Brooke County, West Virginia. Despite snow in the area, five acres of woodlands burned, and 24,000 gallons of ethane were consumed. The fireball melted siding on nearby homes and damaged power lines; it is believed that day’s snowy weather lessened the damage. Initial reports suspect a girth weld failure, with the pipeline being less than two years old. There were no injuries.[524][525]
     
     
     
  • On January 29, near Bowling Green, Missouri, a rupture in a Rockies Express 42-inch natural gas pipeline blew a 20 by 20-foot crater and forced a six-hour evacuation of 50 families. The rupture occurred in a vacant field a few yards east of Pike County Road 43. Strong winds helped dissipate gas until a temporary cap was put in place.[526] This explosion caused $2,672,345 in property damage and was due to a fault in the pipe's fabrication or construction.[527]
     
     
     
  • On February 10 in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, the temperature caused "natural force damage" to a Kinder Morgan Tennessee Gas Pipeline, causing $55,150 worth of property damage.[518]
     
     
     
  • On February 17, a suspected electrical arc made a hole in a Marathon Petroleum pipeline in Shively, Kentucky, spill about 6,700 gallons of jet fuel. More than 2,500 tons of soil were removed to clean up the area.[528][529]
     
     
     
  • On February 25, a 26-inch crude oil pipeline in Navarro County near the Town of Dawson, Texas, failed, spill about 50 barrels of crude oil. Near the failure, investigation showed that the pipe had lost about 80% of its thickness, due to external corrosion. This anomaly was not seen in a 2011 test of this pipeline.[530]
     
     
     
  • On March 2, a Kinder Morgan Tennessee Gas Pipeline leaked due to equipment failure, causing $281,890 of property damage in Marshall, Mississippi.[518]
     
     
     
  • On March 13 a pipeline Patrol pilot identified an oil sheen on a pond near Tehuacana Creek, Texas which was then linked to a leaking 10 inch petroleum products pipeline. About 50 barrels of diesel fuel were spilled.[531]
     
     
     
  • On March 20, a pipe owned by Kinder Morgan subsidiary Southern Natural Gas failed in Rolling Fork, Mississippi, and on March 23, another of that subsidiary's pipes failed due to equipment malfunction in Augusta, Georgia, causing $311,785 in property damage.[518]
     
     
     
  • On April 9, 2 Williams Companies pipelines broke within hours of each other in Marshall County, West Virginia. A 4-inch condensate pipeline broke at 8 pm local time, spilling about 132 barrels of condensate into a creek. Around 10:50 pm local time, a 12-inch gas pipeline ruptured. There was no fire or injuries. Heavy rains were said to be the cause of the failures.[532][533]
     
     
     
  • On April 13, a Kinder Morgan / Natural Gas Pipeline Co. of America pipeline exploded and burned near Borger, Texas. One home was evacuated, but, there were no injuries. The explosion, caused by equipment failure due to environmental cracking, caused $455,000 in property damage.[534]
     
     
     
  • On April 17, a 12-inch natural gas pipeline near Fresno, California operated by Pacific Gas and Electric Corp was ruptured by a backhoe. The resulting explosion killed 1 person and injured 12 others.[535]
     
     
     
  • On May 15, Kinder Morgan's Tennessee Gas Pipeline leaked in Powell County, Kentucky causing $23,400 in property damage.[518]
     
     
     
  • On May 19, a Plains All American Pipeline oil pipeline ruptured near Refugio State Beach, also near Goleta, California, spilling about 124,000 gallons of crude oil. It is referred to as the Refugio Oil Spill.[536][537]
     
     
     
  • On May 31, a 24-inch natural gas back-up pipeline that runs under the Arkansas River in Little Rock, Arkansas ruptured releasing 3.9 million cubic feet of natural gas. The pipeline was not currently in use. No one was injured. A tugboat was damaged.[538][539]
     
     
     
  • On June 9 in Moorehouse Parish, Louisiana, Kinder Morgan's Tennessee Gas Pipeline equipment failed, due to environmental cracking, and leaked, causing $73,395 in property damage.[518]
     
     
     
  • On June 9, a 24-inch natural gas pipeline ruptured in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania. About 130 individuals were evacuated from their homes. No injuries or damage reported. there was no fire The cause was Stress corrosion cracking.[540][541]
     
     
     
  • On June 10, Kinder Morgan's El Paso Natural Gas control/relief equipment failed and leaked in Gray County, Texas.[518]
     
     
     
  • On June 13, a 42-inch gas gathering pipeline exploded and burned near Cuero, Texas. 7 homes were evacuated for a time, but there were no injuries.[542]
     
     
     
  • On June 15, Kinder Morgan's Natural Gas Pipeline Co. of America equipment failed for unknown causes, with $260,555 of property damage in Marshall, Texas (that area's third documented Kinder Morgan leak).[518]
     
     
     
  • On June 18, in Victoria Texas, Kinder Morgan's Tennessee Gas Pipeline pipe failed due to external corrosion and caused $159,346 in property damage).[518]
     
     
     
  • On June 22, a truck driver was killed when his rig veered off a highway and broke above ground facilities for a propylene pipeline in Houston, Texas. The highway was closed for several hours while the gas dissipated.[543]
     
     
     
  • Four workers were hurt on June 25, when a 4-inch gas pipeline exploded at a gas pipeline facility, near White Deer, Texas. 2 of the workers were critically injured. The cause of the explosion was not immediately known.[544]
     
     
     
  • On July 10, a fitting on a 20-inch Plains All American Pipeline crude oil pipeline broke, spilling 4200 gallons of crude oil near Grantfork, Illinois. Much of the crude reached a nearby creek. There were no injuries.[545]
     
     
     
  • On July 15, two workers were hurt by an explosion, when a bulldozer hit a 4-inch gas pipeline, at an EQT gas compressor station in Worthington, Pennsylvania.[546]
     
     
     
  • On August 3, two individuals were injured in Falfurrias, Texas when a natural gas pipeline operated by Kinder Morgan ruptured and exploded due to external corrosion, with $191.498 in property damage. Later investigation showed that the pipe split along an ERW seam.[547][548]
     
     
     
  • On August 7, a natural gas liquids pipeline in Weld County, Colorado burned, after being struck by a third party.[549]
     
     
     
  • 0n August 13, crew working for Colonial Pipeline damaged one of Colonial's lines in Kannapolis, North Carolina, spilling about 6,000 gallons of petroleum product. About 1,000 gallons of product was lost.[208]
     
     
     
  • On August 13, a natural gas pipeline in Cypress, Texas ruptured and leaked while a contract crew worked in the area. The pipeline was owned by Gulfsouth Pipeline. There were no injuries or immediate damage; residents were evacuated.[550]
     
     
     
  • On August 26, two maintenance divers were injured while working on a pipeline owned by Boardwalk/Gulf South Pipeline Co. 25 miles offshore of Louisiana when the pipeline ruptured, and the gas ignited.[551]
     
     
     
  • On September 21, a Colonial Pipeline 32 inch main line was discovered to be leaking in Centreville, Virginia. At least 7,000 gallons of gasoline were spilled, forcing several nearby businesses to close.[552][553]
     
     
     
  • On October 8, an explosion occurred at a Williams Companies pipeline facility in Gibson, Louisiana. 4 employees were killed, and, one other injured. The cause of the explosion was from procedure not being followed during welding work.[554][555][556]
     
     
     
  • On November 15, work was being performed on a flow control valve, on a Sunoco 10 inch crude oil pipeline, in Wortham, Texas, when the valve failed, injuring 5 workers, a spilling some crude oil. It was later determined that the valve was under 400 psi of nitrogen pressure when it was being worked on.[557]
     
     
     
  • On November 30, about 11,000 gallons of gasoline, butane and propane leaked from a pipeline in eastern Summit County, Utah.[558]
     
     
     
  • On December 8, a contractor drilled into an 8-inch buried oil line (200 mm) that transports oil from a holding station in Ventura to a Wilmington refinery near Long Beach while setting new poles for Southern California Edison along State Route 118 near Somis that spilled about 7,980 U.S. gallons (190 barrels).[559]
     
     
     




2016[edit]

  • On January 2, 3 people were injured, one seriously, one home destroyed, and 50 homes were damaged in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, when a leak gas from a gas main entered a home. Preliminary results indicate that a leak occurred at a weld seam on the gas main. Later, Oklahoma regulators filed a complaint over the failure with Oklahoma Natural Gas. The complaint alleged the utility failed to properly inspect its system following eight previous leak failures in the neighborhood going back to 1983.[560][561]
     
     
     
  • On January 9, a 30-inch Atmos Energy gas transmission pipeline exploded and burned in Robertson County, Texas. 4 families nearby were evacuated.[562]
     
     
     
  • On January 11, butane leaking from a pipeline storage facility, in Conway, Kansas, forced a closure of a nearby highway for a time.[563]
     
     
     
  • On February 14, a 6-inch crude oil pipeline broke near Rozet, Wyoming, spilling about 1,500 gallons of crude oil into a creek bed.[564]
     
     
     
  • On February 16, an explosion and fire occurred at a gas plant in Frio County, Texas. 2 employees at the plant were injured.[565]
     
     
     
  • On February 24, a 10-inch propane pipeline exploded and burned, near Sulphur, Louisiana. There were no injuries. About 208,000 gallons of propane were burned. The cause was from manufacturing defects.[566][567]
     
     
     
  • On March 11, about 30,000 gallons of gasoline spilled from a leaking plug on a pipeline, at a tank farm in Sioux City, Iowa.[568]
     
     
     
  • On March 22, about 4,000 gallons of gasoline spilled from a 6-inch petroleum products pipeline in Harwood, North Dakota.[569]
     
     
     
  • On April 2, the TransCanada Corporation Keystone Pipeline was observed by a local resident to be leaking, near Freeman, South Dakota. The cause was a crack in a girth weld, and amount of tar sands dilbit spill was about 16,800 gallons.[570][571]
     
     
     
  • On April 12, a pipeline at a gas plant in Woodsboro, Texas exploded, killing 2 men, and injured another worker.[572]
     
     
     
  • On April 17, a 10 petroleum products pipeline failed in Wabash County, Illinois, resulting in a sheen on the Wabash River. About 48,000 gallons of diesel fuel was spilled.[573]
     
     
     
  • On April 29, a 30-inch Texas Eastern/Spectra Energy pipeline exploded, injuring one man, destroying his home and damaging several others. The incident was reported at 8:17 a.m., near the intersection of Routes 819 and 22 in Salem Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. Later, Spectra Energy Corp. announced plans to dig up and assess 263 miles of that pipeline, from Pennsylvania to New Jersey. Corrosion had been detected at the failed seam 4 years before the rupture.[574][575][576]
     
     
     
  • On May 20, a Shell Oil Company pipeline leaked near Tracy, California, spilling about 21,000 gallons of crude oil.[577]
     
     
     
  • On June 23, a Crimson Pipeline crude oil line leaked in Ventura County, California. Initial reports said the spill size was from 25,200 gallons to 29,000 gallons, but, later reports estimate 45,000 gallons of crude were spilled.[578][579]
     
     
     
  • On July 6, a Plantation Pipeline line was noticed to be leaking in Goochland County, Virginia. The spill did not reach nearby waterways.[580]
     
     
     
  • On August 12, contractors were working on one of the main lines in Sunoco Pipeline LP's Nederland, Texas terminal when crude oil burst through a plug that was supposed to hold the oil back in the pipeline and ignited. The contractors were knocked off the platform to the ground, suffering injuries from the fall and severe burns. 7 contractors were injured.[581]
     
     
     
  • On September 4, a pipeline broke in Kern County, California, spilling reclaimed water & oil.[582]
     
     
     
  • On September 5, a pipeline in Bay Long, Louisiana was hit by dredging operations, resulting in a spill of about 5,300 gallons of crude oil into the water.[583]
     
     
     
  • On September 9, a Colonial Pipeline mainline leak was noticed by workers on another project, in Shelby County, Alabama. At least 252,000 gallons of gasoline leaked from line.[584][585]
     
     
     
  • On September 10, a Sunoco pipeline ruptured near Sweetwater, Texas. About 33,000 gallons of crude oil were spilled. The pipeline was just over a year old.[586]
     
     
     
  • On October 11, two Nicor Gas workers were injured, and two townhouse units destroyed in a massive fire and explosion, caused by a gas leak in Romeoville, Illinois.[587]
     
     
     
  • On October 17, an 8-inch ammonia pipeline started leaking, near Tekamah, Nebraska. A farmer living nearby went to find the source of the ammonia, and was killed by entering the vapor cloud. About 50 people were evacuated from their homes.[588]
     
     
     
  • On October 19, a contractor in Portland, Oregon hit a 1 inch gas pipeline during work. Within an hour, there were 2 explosions, injuring 8 people, destroying or damaging several buildings, and started a fire. Contractors claim a utility locate was done before work began.[589]
     
     
     
  • On October 21, an 8 inch Sunoco pipeline ruptured in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, spilling about 55,000 gallons of gasoline into the Susquehanna River. The river was running high at the time.[590]
     
     
     
  • On October 24, a pipeline ruptured on the Seaway Pipeline, in Cushing, Oklahoma, spraying the area with crude oil.[591]
     
     
     
  • On October 31, a Colonial Pipeline mainline exploded and burned in Shelby County, Alabama, after accidentally being hit by a trackhoe. One worker died at the scene, and 5 others were hospitalized. The explosion occurred approximately several miles from the 09 September 2016 breach.[592][593]
     
     
     
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Ya I would say it almost seems like there were more Pipeline spills in the last two years then there were railroad car spills. I guess I would take the lesser.
 
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I can copy and paste from Wikipedia too, but where is the proof that a water supply was irreparably damaged? Show me lasting, long term damage from a leak in the last ten years. 

These oil companies take leaks very seriously and spend money to ensure they don't happen. And when they do they spend a lot of money to clean them up. When I was working on the rigs there were operators who would fire rig crew or kick third party guys off site if they caught them taking a leak on site. Why? Because in some states that's considered a fluid leak.

The fact the list ryanator posted is so long is proof the industry takes this stuff seriously and the systems work.

 
Nature is pretty resilient. Remember Deep Water Horizon and how the gulf would "never recover"?

Interesting how you don't hear about that anymore.

 
Show me lasting, long term damage from a leak in the last ten years. 
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Well the one that comes to my mind is the one that just happened about a year ago to the Yellowstone river.

A ruptured oil pipeline leaked up to 40,000 gallons of crude into the Yellowstone River in Montana last Saturday, contaminating the drinking water for the nearby town of Glendive.Saturday’s spill adds to a history of pipeline malfunctions—in 2011, the Exxon Silvertip Pipeline spilled 63,000 gallons of oil into the Yellowstone River two and a half hours outside of Yellowstone National Park. This newest disaster comes less than two weeks after the Senate voted 63–32 to advance the bill that would approve the Keystone XL pipeline, which would cross over 1,700 bodies of water in addition to the now oil-slicked Yellowstone River.
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The town of Glendive began detecting the contaminant benzene in its drinking water on Monday, two days after the spill.
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I know it's still on on going cleanup up there. Basically the same scenario could play out to them.Source

So is an oil spill possible?   Yes

Will it happen?   Who knows

But I think that is why the Tribes are trying to get across. They just don't even the remote possibility of it even happening. You wouldn't either for your family etc. 

Can the pipeline be re-routed? Sure it can. Then why don't they? Because they will say "It costs to much money and we are already in production". So lets look at this. What is the key word in this? Money. Yup the main problem with it. So let's so the math here. Which is more important? Water to drink to live or money? Ah I think we found out the answer. = money. And that folks is what it comes down to. To much money involved. Plus most of the people in ND think that they will somehow get some of this money, through jobs, through a boost in the State's economy etc. Maybe if the state wouldn't had been so greedy the second time around with their money. They already went through this once and apparently they never learned from the first phase. But now I am going off topic here.

When I was working on the rigs there were operators who would fire rig crew or kick third party guys off site if they caught them taking a leak on site. Why? Because in some states that's considered a fluid leak.
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That might be ok with some Companies, but even why I lived there, the local papers always had spills going on. Fracking salt water spills. Environmental spills. The local papers were littered with them. There were tons of small companies that didn't care, and were more interested in just paying the EPA fines than they were being careful.The media has been keeping a tight lid on this story. I believe because I am sure that down the line that these oil companies have ties to the media. But I see it coming out more and more on the news. Like I said someone is going to end up getting killed on one side or the other and then the media will go in full swing and the government will step in.

 
Nature is pretty resilient. Remember Deep Water Horizon and how the gulf would "never recover"?Interesting how you don't hear about that anymore.
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So are you saying it's ok for a accident to happen as long as it doesn't have a "long term effect"? What about the short term effects?

 
So are you saying it's ok for a accident to happen as long as it doesn't have a "long term effect"? What about the short term effects?
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No, what I'm saying is this stuff gets blown out of proportion on a regular basis.

 
I can copy and paste from Wikipedia too, but where is the proof that a water supply was irreparably damaged? Show me lasting, long term damage from a leak in the last ten years. These oil companies take leaks very seriously and spend money to ensure they don't happen. And when they do they spend a lot of money to clean them up. When I was working on the rigs there were operators who would fire rig crew or kick third party guys off site if they caught them taking a leak on site. Why? Because in some states that's considered a fluid leak.
The fact the list ryanator posted is so long is proof the industry takes this stuff seriously and the systems work.
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I can go around strutting like a rooster with my "opinion" as everyone else too, but it's all an opinion and politics.  If trying to  show proof and citations doesn't work anymore, then I'll just have to stick with an opinion.There are so many hidden spills that are not reported because any industry doesn't want a bad rep, and their only choice when it's found out or know they don't have a choice is to throw money at it. Their cleanup is mostly just to appease what we see on the face of it.  In North Dakota alone, there were many unreported spills (won't bother posting the articles on it) because the truth is most companies were careless when building these and our freeze/thaw cycles here are not nice on the infrastructure.  BP's big gulf oil spill is still lingering and has drastically shifted the ecosystem in that area, it's just not "mainstream news" because it's old news.  Also, most spills that are reported, are as much under reported as possible, I know first hand.

Anyways, if you look at the very second post of this topic which was my reply, I simply showed a map of the many pipelines and said "what's one more"? This is going to go in someone's backyard, so they will fight it.  If it was in your area, you would probably do the same.  Also, many people have nothing better to do than to protest, so even out of area people come out to join and cause destruction.  I'm not crazy about the building of these pipelines, though see the benefit, but there's always the pros and cons of everything.

 
No, what I'm saying is this stuff gets blown out of proportion on a regular basis.
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It does, but apparently this is enough for people to go out and "Protest". I won't use the word "Riot" like the North Dakota media uses. Overall the worse thing these people have down is thrown rocks and used slingshots from what I have seen. The have started a few fires to stay warm from the water cannons. Besides there was more damage down in the Hillary protests in Portland than over there in North Dakota. It's like this, for God's sake we came over here took all their land, just go around the dam thing and make every one happy. You big CEOs will still get your million dollar payouts in the end.

 
What about the EPA, the Environmental Protections Agency's spill last year? That spill was massive. Bad stuff happens with everything, but when it's with an oil company it's all because of "money." Give me a break.

If you're going to take that stance and then not also state it is about money on the tribe and the environmentalist's side too you are being intellectually dishonest. The tribe should have gone to and accepted the offer of meetings with DAPL. They didn't. 

But you're right, someone probably is going to die before this is all over, but it isn't going to be because of oil company greed. I have a friend, and now I've found out in the last day or two that I actually have friends plural, that are down there on the front line in law enforcement that have had fiery logs, rocks, and Molotov cocktails thrown at them in the last couple weeks and more specifically Sunday night. The fact that they haven't just opened up on these bastards is an amazing statement to self control. Where is the media coverage of that? You say that there's this big media cover-up? Where is your evidence of that on your side of this issue? The media coverage I've seen is pretty overwhelmingly sympathetic to the "protectors".

We're a generation that got force fed environmentalist bullshit from shows like Captain Planet and have been conditioned to hate big energy like it's this nefarious force in the world that controls everything. The media just feeds into that conditioning. It isn't the other way around.

 
The media coverage I've seen is pretty overwhelmingly sympathetic to the "protectors".
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100% agree for news outside North Dakota. The locals inside the state are the other way around from what I have seen.

We're a generation that got force fed environmentalist bullshit from shows like Captain Planet and have been conditioned to hate big energy like it's this nefarious force in the world that controls everything.
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Shhhh... my fans is running because of Global Warming.

 
Oh look what just popped up in the news:Dakota Access pipeline protester may lose her arm after small explosion, activists say
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I'm glad you found this, because I was posting from my phone and was going to dig this up when I got back to my computer, which I have now. This is a perfect example of what I'm talking about. This wasn't from law enforcement. The story even states that the explosion came from behind the "Protectors" line. These people aren't protesters, they are rioters, and they are going to end up killing someone. 

 
I'm glad you found this, because I was posting from my phone and was going to dig this up when I got back to my computer, which I have now. This is a perfect example of what I'm talking about. This wasn't from law enforcement. The story even states that the explosion came from behind the "Protectors" line. These people aren't protesters, they are rioters, and they are going to end up killing someone. 
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I think this is what they want though. Action. They are looking for more mass media coverage. They want someone to step in. Originally this started with just some local Tribes people, but now it is bringing in people from all over the country.

 
My stance on DAPL comes almost exclusively from my support of law and order here. The Standing Rock Sioux had their opportunity to voice their concerns and displeasure with the route. They didn't take advantage of the process which gave them ample opportunity over the course of several years to do so. Now they engage in this garbage and are wasting precious resources and are preventing law enforcement from actually doing their job around the state. 

You say that the state media is biased against the protesters? I tend to disagree, I've read most of the coverage and I think they probably have sources that the national media does not, and despite that a number of their stories have been incredibly slanted in favor of the "protectors" despite that. I know several members of the media in the state, having been a member of the fourth estate myself at one point, and they are not what you would call "pro-oil development."

Spills get clicks. I have friends who work on both sides of this issue. I have family and friends that work in the oil industry. I actually know people who work as pumpers, and drillers, and whatever. The oil industry takes this stuff seriously because it has to. It's in their best interest to. I have family and friends that work in the green energy industry. I have family and friends who work in journalism. Everyone has their own interests and biases, but I would hope all of us could agree that what these people are doing is not in the spirit of polite discourse. They are using aggressive, thuggish behavior and acting like children to try to get their way.  

 
I think this is what they want though. Action. They are looking for more mass media coverage. They want someone to step in. Originally this started with just some local Tribes people, but now it is bringing in people from all over the country.
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They should have taken action months or years ago when they were given the opportunity to. Now it's like a kid throwing a tantrum. It's just now the kid has a Molotov cocktail. 

 
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You have repeatedly brought up "money" as the motivating factor here. I might actually agree with you on that, and I'll tell you why. 

I don't think it's the oil companies, or DAPL that is motivated by money here. I think it's the tribe. And this is just my own theory, I don't really have anything to back it up, but I don't think I'm too far off. 

So the Standing Rock Reservation is located in the south central portion of North Dakota, south of Bismarck, and it bleeds into a big portion of north central South Dakota. Fort Berthold Indian Reservation is located north and slightly east of Dickinson about 40 miles. That's the one my grandpa grew up on. They have a ton of oil rights and the tribe has gotten incredibly rich over the course of the last several years as a result. I think Standing Rock was looking for their piece of the oil pie and tried to hold out for more money. DAPL offered them like $10 million or something like that and the tribe turned it down hoping for more money. DAPL said, "Nope, we'll go elsewhere." The tribe is upset and is now throwing a tantrum with the help of the environmental lobby. 

The same thing happened a couple of years over the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux nickname. The NCAA required the support of the two North Dakota tribes identified as Sioux to uphold the nickname. The one tribe in the northeastern part of the state voted overwhelmingly to support the nickname. Standing Rock's tribal council refused to allow a vote. I believe it was because they were looking for a deal similar to what the Seminole tribe has with Florida State or the the Illini tribe has with Illinois where they see a share of the licensing proceeds of like 35-50%. UND hockey apparel alone would have made that incredible lucrative for the tribe at Standing Rock. UND said "nope" and they changed the nickname. 

 
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