The Oglala Sioux Tribe won a case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, stopping the planned Dewey-Burdock uranium mine, at least for now, according to a story in Lakota Country Times.
On Friday, July 20, 2018, the Court ruled in Oglala Sioux Tribe vs. Nuclear Regulatory Committee that the committee failed to consider the potential impacts the mine would have on the environment. The Oglala Sioux Tribe had argued that the proposed 10,000-acre mine would permanently damage its resources including, water, cultural artifacts, and historical sites. …
The Court did not revoke the company’s license as desired by Water Protectors. It did, however, force the case back to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for further consideration in light of its discussion in the decision. It also prevented the company behind the mine from conducting any work that disturbs the ground.
In addition to the positive outcome, this gives some small measure of hope for the upcoming legal battles to stop Enbridge Line 3. Click on the link above for the full story. Keep reading for more articles.
Could Trump Help Slow Canadian Tar Sands Imports?
Here’s an unexpected headline from the CBC: Canada’s purchase of Trans Mountain faces at least 1 more hurdle: Donald Trump.
You wouldn’t think Trump would oppose an energy deal, but here’s a quick news refresher to make sense of this story.
First, Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain Pipeline faced stiff public opposition in Canada, notably in British Columbia. In an effort to save the project, the Canadian government intervened and bought the pipeline. (See Bloomberg article: Canada Buys Kinder Trans Mountain Pipeline for $3.5 Billion.)
Second, U.S. President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have a rocky relationship. A June 3 article in The Guardian: Trump’s trade tirade casts Canada in unfamiliar role of America’s bad guy, notes:
Since taking office, Trump has routinely disparaged Canada’s trade policies, calling them a ‘disgrace’ and ‘unfair’. As he prepared to visit Canada this week, however, the US president took it up a notch, personally attacking Trudeau.
Third, the CBC story notes that the Canadian government’s Trans Mountain pipeline purchase agreement is contingent on passing a U.S. national security review. The deal is subject to U.S. review “because the agreement includes the acquisition of the Puget Sound pipeline, a short spur line of the existing Trans Mountain system that transports Canadian crude oil from Abbotsford, B.C., to refineries in Washington state,” the story said.
That means if Trump’s ill will against Trudeau is strong enough, he could scuttle the Trans Mountain sale. (If you’re thinking big, Trump also could put a tariff on Canadian tar sands crude.)
Yep, they’re both a long shot, but you can always hope.
White Earth Buys Food Truck to Promote Healthy Eating
The White Earth Band of Ojibwe hopes that a new food truck will help bring more healthy eating options to its community, addressing the problems of what amounts to a food desert, according to an MPR story.
White Earth bought the truck, once owned by famed Sioux Chef Sean Sherman, with a $40,000 grant from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture through a program that targets food deserts — regions where grocery stores with fresh, healthy options simply don’t exist.
“Kind of the idea behind the truck was a mobile grocery store, and to move the grocery store around from town to town in White Earth where there’s not a lot of access to locally produced, healthy, traditional foods,” tribal food sovereignty coordinator Zachary Paige said on a recent day as the truck worked a small farmers market in Mahnomen, serving free smoothies.
Click on the link above for the full story.
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[…] See also our earlier blog: Oglala Sioux Win Court Victory Stopping Uranium Mine and Other Weekend Reads. […]
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