Oil Spills: North Dakota Public Record

Remember this: Sometimes you have to have an argument for why something is a damn bad idea. All you have to do is look at the track record. It is right there-collectively, and cohesively.

I don’t write these things for fame or fortune. I merely put thoughts out there for others to grab, investigate, use, and run with the sharp scissors.

So, while everyone is looking at one thing. I decided to look back at the wheat field and well, deviant that I am, things that you have to put out in public records.

Works for me at the moment

There was an article entitled; North Dakota recorded 300 oil spills in two years without notifying the public, by the Associated Press Bismarck. The article was dated Friday, 25 October 2013. That was three years ago.

It would seem that companies in North Dakota are required to report spills to the agency with jurisdiction, which puts them into public record, but are not really required to tell the public that it’s out there.

Question No. 1: If DAPL puts a pipeline through a portion of Standing Rock, and it leaks, are they going to make a report, file it with the public record, and hope no one asks, or finds out about it?

Not sure, thought I would ask.

If this article was in October 2013, and it stated the state Health Department and regulators were reviewing state’s policies for when to publicly report such incidences after a massive spill. I wonder if they actually revised that issue.

Question No. 2: If your state governance sees a red flag, and doesn’t address it, should the public think someone isn’t doing their jobs?

Then we go back to the time the Universe was giving everyone a heads up when lightning struck that wheat field in North Dakota and governance hid it for eleven days.

Question No.3: Damn, the Universe must not have liked that pipeline either. Do you think the Universe was pointing out the evidence?

Not sure, thought I would ask.

When you read track records like this, and let me tell you, North Dakota has a racetrack that extends well pass the event horizon.

Question No. 4: If the track record of oil companies and their spills is stacking up persistently in one state, (cough North Dakota), is it accurate to observe that when tribal, and non-tribal constituents do not trust their state government, is it warranted? 

If the state government is aware of this distrust, yet tries to silence tribal, and non-tribal constituents from observing their Constitutional Rights, and whatever Tribal Rights and treaties they have, can a state governance publicly try to undermine those groups in the hopes of clearing a path for something that has already been exhibited as a potential threat to quality of life, even to the point of disguise on the part of slipping it in a report, and silently placing it in the folder of Public Record, and hoping no one asks for it?

Not sure, thought I would ask.

When you read the Associate Press Bismarck article, it reiterates new pipelines spring up, which increases possible instances of pipeline breaching, this breaching causes the risk to environmental habitat to go up, which involves the closely connected human habitation.

Question No. 5: How many pipelines does it take?

Not sure, thought I would ask.

I was thinking this. If you can gather documentation from public records, of a bad track record, of companies with oil spills (list them all with dates, locations, and companies), lack of oversight (ask for the exact maintenance schedule to be performed to ensure quality assurance of the pipelines, and how covered ground pipeline is to be monitored), and being negligible at reporting to the public when a spill occurs, just to name a few-you would have a hefty argument for why North Dakota governance may not be strategically monitoring its oil companies shenanigans, and forgoing monitoring to keep up with the Jones at the cost of whomever lays in the wake of the pipelines.

Question No. 6: Who is to say that this same thing can’t happen at the Standing Rock area?

Not sure, thought I would ask.

There again, the big question would be:

Question No. 7: Why was DAPL so desperate to get that pipeline through?

Question No. 8: How did that desperation translate into the decisions to try and threaten, coerce, physically assault, and fully out them and their employees as a company now known for its blatantly disregard for human life, even verbalizing it with the moniker, “scum of the Earth”.

Not sure, thought I would ask.

I read the in 2014, one million gallons of wastewater from hydraulic fracturing leaked from a pipeline near Fort Berthold, home of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara. They live right on top of pipelines.

Question No.9: When you set your life up on top of a spider web of potential problems, would one think it is a little to late for going back? Is it better to just not have the pipeline near your water?

Not sure, thought I would ask.

When you are dealing with poor track records, one does wonder why the standard hasn't been set higher with more emphasis on transporting the products safely, without spills, or injuries to and through the destinations the pipelines occupy.

Where is the integrity management programs? Where is the in-line inspection tools to determine the condition of the pipelines? Where the hell are the Smart Pigs, and why aren't they being used? Is there adequate funding for research projects on  pipeline challenges? How are pipeline regulatory agencies ensuring incidences do not occur, and if they do, less frequent.

Why does it appear the pipeline companies are not working together or observing an industry wide recommended practice?

When you see the rate of error and malfunctioning in how Energy Infrastructure is handles, compounded with the numerous cases of malfunction of equipment,and maintenance, when is someone going to ask the question:

When is quality assurance and safety precaution going to be re-evaluated to address the high incidences of natural and liquid gas breaching pipelines, and any hole it makes birth from?

Written by: Angelia Y Larrimore

http://www.ndhealth.gov/EHS/OpenRecords.asp

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/oct/25/north-dakota-oil-pipeline-spills-secrecy 

https://thinkprogress.org/it-will-never-be-the-same-north-dakota-s-840-000-gallon-oil-spill-one-year-later-16686efd39#.25ok9w47j

Dear Hunters: Endowed To Protect

Remember this: Causative Melancholy writes an unread letter.

Dear Hunter: I am about to let you know what’s up.

Now that Thanksgiving 2016 has the derogatory stain of Human and Constitutional rights violations by a continuous stream of militarized police violence on the Standing Rock Sioux by Morton County Police, DAPL, Dakota Access, LLC, and outsourced security companies-the one thing I would like to see, which cannot find, is a full environmental impact statement for the conditions a DAPL crude oil leak in the ground implied under the water source of the Standing Rock Sioux. 

There should be one. This environmental impact statement should include the complete expanse of the pipeline through its subsequent states and anything it affects, even human beings. Where is it? How can Dakota Access, LLC build without the environmental impact statement? If there is an environmental statement, why is it not available for the public?

The XL Keystone Pipeline had an environmental impact study-where is DAPL’s?

Questions. Questions.

Free media is focusing on infringement of an indigenous spiritual movement, human rights, desecration of sacred burial mounds, and Dakota Access with the help of North Dakota’s governance to pull a Viking move on the Standing Rock Sioux. When you read the content of official letters between lawyers and different departments involved-one wonders where that bit of information is.

Celebrities got involved. It is a shame that the common person can’t make a statement and it is heard. It has to be known person with a huge following. That didn’t work-DAPL put up a barb wire fence while officers walked over the burial mound like it was nothing.

Yet a small person can stand up and make a big sound-when everyone else joins in repeating the words.

Foreign places even showed support but they are a long ways off.

I have been trying to put it all into perspective with the lack of evidence, available research on the part of science in order to do such a project, and turning the screw so you can look in another prism of the key hole.

When you review pipeline projects, jobs are generated but do not last forever. The project itself destroys habitat in areas and it takes time for those areas to recoup.

There is a problem with keeping up a standard of maintenance and upkeep on pipelines to keep leaks from occurring. Corrosion, as I have read is a guilty party. If an oil pipeline is sixty feet under a water source, at the mercy of the agents of nature, and not visually inspectable, is it proper to say this is favorable conditions for undetectable leaks over a period of time that could cause extreme damage to the ground, ground water, and those living things above it?

Then a company drives that right through someone’s family graveyard-that is a morally bankrupt concept to observe.

For writing purposes’ sake, I am going to reason that what has been done to Standing Rock is good enough reason to revolt. If you need something else to drive it home-here it is. Anyone else that can think of a valid reason to support this argument, feel free to write your own-and spread the word.

I may dwell in darkness in my blog, but readers tend to write and spread the word. Go forth and multiple.

Out-of-sight, out-of-mind. This pipeline stretches estimate 1,130 (or 1172) miles-with a certain amount of that underground. It goes through North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, and on to Illinois. That is 1,130 miles of potential damage to wildlife habitat, outdoor infringement due to No Access due to damage, etc. There is the issue of the Oil Company cleaning up the mess it has created, and everyone else living with the fall-out from it.

How fair it is that a big corporation, or company can act as they please, as it would seem, to whomever they want, yet depending on which state you live in, the constituent has to go to the local government, ask for a building permit to add to their house, or have natural resources come out to their property and tell the constituent where a hole can be dug to put in a water source?

Does Human habitation ever occur in an Environmental Impact study? 

If it does, why was the Standing Rock Sioux not included in its ledgers? Or someone was hoping to rub the Standing Rock Sioux from it in the hopes-no one would care about them.

Not this day.

The idea the other states involved caters to the acceptance of something that could ruin their quality of life exists, but look the other way with the hopes nothing bad will happen. Then I think, Flint Michigan and the tainted water-among other stories.

Constituents were disregarded in the construction of policies and ideas to supposedly serve the community without proper consideration for the possible outcomes that could harm them. In its execution of said plan, disregarded ensuring quality material and a plan to monitor were lacking. There didn’t seem to exist consistent monitoring for safety issues and placed regulations for water quality.

You have distrust in politicians, and the politician’s inability to use sound science to ensure quality of life of the human constituents through regulations that stipulate a section dedicated to problem-solving in the now, instead of the “after the fact”.

No one said a politician had to be a scientist, but a politician has a world of scientists at the ready to give sound input on issues where there is questionable content. All they have to do is ask the question, receive the input, and make a sound decision, or send that idea back to the drawing board until someone works out the kinks.

If you can’t execute it without harm-review, revise, and then act.

Dear Hunter-this is where you come in. If you hunt any of those states, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, and Illinois-go to that states Department of Natural Resources for hunting and google the wild game. Do you want to lose that?

If these people can ramrod a tribe of indigenous peoples, when someone decides to privatize Public Lands-do you think the militarized police aren’t going to show up and spray you in the face with mace, shoot rubber bullets at you, blind you with lights to keep you up at night, and refuse to let you build a fire in freezing condition after spraying cold water on you to give you hypothermia?

Do you think you will be different? Somehow, your life has more value than Standing Rock-no, it doesn’t.

Standing Rock fights for the same things-it varies in their timeline-but the same things. They fight for all of us. Even you good hunter.

How you value land and hunting is the same as Standing Rock with some varying in belief-but you know it is sacred, you need it, and it is yours to defend-it is your home.

If you don’t believe me look up the fight for public lands and hunting. See what your google strike gets. I believe that is one of the keystone issues Steven Rinella speaks on; if you need some credibility here, because what do I know-I am a woman.

When you have elected a President that can’t be trusted in his word, you have to wait for the shoe to drop; God forbid where it fall.

When shady politicians forego the quality and value of human life to hire a get-away-crew to do less than excellent work which causes sickness and disease-maybe you need to rethink being silent because you were never promised it wouldn’t happen to you.

If a United States veteran, who made a vow to protect the American people can stand up for and with the Standing Rock Sioux, then Hunters everywhere need to get off their asses and realize what this means to them.

Not ever hunter is a likable character. Some are self-serving, like to see themselves in photos, and act as elitists over all of us-but you, Hunter-are a free agent of the wild. It is your endowment to protect it. I am eyeballing you to scientists of the world.

Yet, you are free to chose.

Its water, land, family, wildlife, a way of life, and the things you spout are tradition, to be pasted to your kids-for future generations. 

That is no different than Standing Rock Sioux. They have the same innate right to it-and it is being tread on.

Its habitat, wildlife, all things we know as Nature that restores our soul when the trappings of this world, wear us down with stress, depression, and lack of hope.

One of our mottoes as the American Public: Don’t tread on us.

When did we give it away? Why do we normalize the treading on other people that are fighting for a reason that can’t be argued?

When did we stop standing up with our ethnic brothers who want the same decency and respect-the same people whose ancestors walked through lives of happiness, abuse, torture, life and death for us to get here?

How did people come to disrespect the self and each other, and normalize the things our ancestors and people now, died for?

Some people don't like what I have to say. If I was having a hard time, I would want someone like me to show up. Standing Rock is having a hard time, that is all they want to-and people to respect their belief that pipeline not go under their water source, or anywhere near their sacred burial sites. They don't want putrid water. Water is life.

Dear Hunter: You best be standing up and vocalizing. You are not immune to this. Don't wait for them to drive something through your hunting grounds. If you shirk you duty at this, when your hunting is gone, or you cry for help and it goes unheard-I told you so.

Written by: Angelia Y Larrimore, čhúŋwaŋča waók kté 

~Courtesy of the AOFH~

Makes you wonder if the same thing happened to Standing Rock. 
When you read down through this you'll find this statement:

The scope of this task was restricted to assessing the impacts in the Columbia River from these two scenarios; we did not evaluate potential impacts in the Pacific Ocean or along the Pacific Coast. We also did not separately assess how the public or Indian Tribes would value the potential losses to natural resources if either of these spills were to occur, although these values may be at least partly accounted for in the methods we used. Thus, we expect that we are underestimating the potential impacts to fisheries and the potential natural resource damages from these spill scenarios.

http://192.168.1.1:8181/http://columbiariverkeeper.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/2615-137-CFTE-Ex1503-000095-ENV-Report_05-13-16.pdf