Trump Expected to Sign Executive Order Expediting Pipelines, Report Says, and Other News

President Trump is expected to sign an executive order next week to speed up pipeline development, according to a report in Axios. This could impact plans for Keystone XL, and possibly Enbridge Line 3.

According to the story:

White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow said the executive order could come as soon as next week, while speaking at a closed-door event Wednesday hosted by conservative think tank American Council for Capital Formation, according to two sources with direct knowledge.

[Update: This just in from Bloomberg News this afternoon: Trump Doubles Down on Keystone XL Pipeline, Issuing New Permit:

President Donald Trump issued a new permit for TransCanada Corp.’s controversial Keystone XL pipeline Friday, circumventing a court ruling that blocked a previous authorization by his State Department.

Click on the link for more details.]

In other news …

Ginew Collective Flags Enbridge Drill Site on Mississippi River

According to a post last week on the website The Last Real Indians, members of the Ginew Collective “exposed an Enbridge drilling worksite on the eastern shore of the Mississippi River on the proposed Line 3 route.”

Enbridge doesn’t have permits to begin construction. Scouting patrols have been watching the proposed pipeline route.  Ginew members and other Line 3 opponents are deeply concerned that Enbridge will do environmental damage in the state under the pretext of pre-construction work, such as tree cutting in the new pipeline corridor, or drilling

The Ginew Collective is “a grassroots, frontlines effort led by indigenous women to protect Anishinaabe territory from the destruction of Enbridge’s Line 3 tar sands project.”

Line 3 opponents have brought suit in the Minnesota Court of Appeals to reverse the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission’s votes approving Line 3.

[Update: Healing Minnesota Stories called the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources late Friday afternoon. No one was available to clarify the situation.]

Click on the links for more details.

Crack Down on Pipeline Protestors

Inside Climate News just ran a story headlined: More States Crack Down on Pipeline Protesters, Including Supporters Who Aren’t Even on the Scene. This will affect indigenous peoples, as many indigenous people are leading in pipeline protests.

According to the story:

Bills to clamp down on pipeline protests have spread to at least nine new states this year, part of an industry-backed push that began two years ago to heighten penalties for activists who try to block fossil fuel infrastructure projects.

Several of the bills also allow prosecutors to go after people or organizations as “conspirators” or “riot boosters” for merely supporting or coordinating with others who violate the law.

As we wrote yesterday, SF2011 is pending in the Minnesota Legislature, and would increase penalties for pipeline protestors who damage property. According to the Senate Summary, the bill: “Adds a new felony (statutory maximum of seven years/$20,000 fine) for a person who alters the equipment or physical operations of a pipeline with intent to disrupt services and without consent.” It also “Provides that a person who enters the site or worksite of a critical public service facility, utility, or pipeline with the intent to disrupt the operation or provision of services is guilty of a five-year felony.”

The bill has passed out of Senate committees and awaits a Senate floor vote.

Petition to Support Native American Voting Rights

The site ActionNetwork.org has a petition to support Native American Voting Rights. It says:

Non-traditional addresses for many reservation residents create registration problems. Additionally, even when registered, high unemployment, extremely distant polling locations (sometimes hundreds of miles), newly minted voter ID laws, and limited resources create acute disadvantages to Native American voting.

These burdens work in tandem with historical, social, and political conditions to produce a discriminatory result for Native Americans.

Sign the petition to tell county and state election officials: Native Americans deserve equal access to voting.

Click on the link above for more details.