UNDATED (KELO-AM) Bernie Sanders says that the Dakota Access oil pipeline must be stopped.
The former Democratic Presidential candidate has announced his support for the growing protest against the pipeline near the Standing Rock Indian Reservation that straddles North and South Dakota.
Dakota Access would carry North Dakota oil across eastern South Dakota, past Sioux Falls, the state's biggest city, then through Iowa, to terminals in Illinois.
In a statement released by Sanders, the U.S. Senator from Vermont says:
“Like the Keystone XL pipeline, which I opposed since day one, the Dakota Access fracked oil pipeline, will transport some of the dirtiest fuel on the planet. Regardless of the court’s decision, the Dakota Access pipeline must be stopped. As a nation, our job is to break our addiction to fossil fuels, not increase our dependence on oil. I join with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and the many tribal nations fighting this dangerous pipeline.”
The court decision that Sanders refers to is the case involving the permits issued for pipeline construction by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Standing Rock tribe wants the federal judge to halt construction. The decision is expected by September 9.
(KSFY-TV contributed to this report)
