The debate over the Dakota Access Pipeline has been going on for months, and the thing that many people have feared since the beginning of planning has just happened. On Dec. 5, the Belle Fourche Pipeline in Billings County leaked over 176,000 gallons of crude oil into surrounding creeks and hillsides. The leak went undetected by the pipeline owners until it had traveled over five miles. The leak took place 150 miles from Cannon Ball North Dakota where protests have been taking place for months.

This spill raises more concerns about building the Dakota Access Pipeline since this was a main concern from the beginning. If the Dakota Access Pipeline spills the oil could contaminate much of the Missouri River, where the Standing Rock Sioux tribe gets their water. The builder of the pipeline, Energy Transfer Partners, says they will use remote monitoring so they can shut down the pipeline if it were to leak. However, similar monitoring equipment has failed to detect leaks on other pipelines, making it hard to trust.

Carl Weimer, executive director of the nonprofit Pipeline Safety Trust, said, “It’s hard to compare one company, especially one that has had a pipeline in the ground for maybe 40 or 50 years, to a brand new pipeline, It’s not just the old ones that fail, new ones can fail also.”
There is still a lot of debate around building the pipeline as permission has not yet been granted. On Dec. 5, the Army Corp of Engineers announced they will begin looking for alternative routes for the pipeline. Jo-Ellen Darcy, the corps’ assistant secretary for civil works, said, “The best way to complete that work responsibly and expeditiously is to explore alternate routes for the pipeline crossing.” Although this is great news for the Standing rock Sioux tribe, there is still fear this decision will not last with the Trump administration taking over.