Seattle Council Votes to Divest Billions From Wells Fargo Over DAPL Support

A committee of the Seattle City Council voted in favor of divesting $3 billion in city money from Wells Fargo over the bank’s role in construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline.

According to the Seattle Times, council members Kshama Sawant and Tim Burgess co-sponsored the bill, which was heard before the Affordable Housing, Neighborhoods and Finance Committee while #NoDAPL pipeline opposition activists gathered in a rally outside.

Public pressure over the controversial pipeline and a massive campaign to divest from banks contributing loans and funds to the project led to the preliminary hearing — and a full vote will be taken on Monday.

Energy Transfer Partners was forced to halt construction when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers halted approval of the necessary easement for the last remaining portion of the project in order to perform a full environmental impact assessment.

Viewed as a last ditch but sound victory by many, the construction stoppage was expected to last for some time as officials assessed the safety of Dakota Access undercutting the Missouri River’s Lake Oahe reservoir — the sole source of drinking water for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. An additional 18 million people are estimated to draw their drinking water supplies downstream from the pipeline’s planned crossing.

But that stop gap appears to have been removed altogether with the incoming administration of President Donald Trump, who signaled approval of both the Dakota Access and Keystone XL Pipelines.

Then, on Tuesday, North Dakota Senator John Hoeven released the following statement, proffering more bad news for supporters of the Standing Rock Sioux encamped near the slated path of the final segment of construction:

“Today, the Acting Secretary of the Army Robert Speer informed us that he has directed the Army Corps of Engineers to proceed with the easement needed to complete the Dakota Access Pipeline. This will enable the company to complete the project, which can and will be built with the necessary safety features to protect the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and others downstream.

“Building new energy infrastructure with the latest safeguards and technology is the safest and most environmentally sound way to move energy from where it is produced to where people need it.

“We are also working with the Corps, the Department of Justice, the Department of Interior and the Department of Homeland Security to secure additional federal law enforcement resources to support state and local law enforcement. On Sunday, 20 additional Bureau of Indian Affairs law enforcement officers arrived at Standing Rock to assist local authorities. Also, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Council has asked the protesters to leave the campsite on Corps land.

“This has been a difficult issue for all involved, particularly those who live and work in the area of the protest site, and we need to bring it to a peaceful resolution.”

In light of the unrelenting effort by politicians and Big Oil to ensure Dakota Access will be completed, divestment from the banks financing the project — speaking to corporations in the language of cash — has proven the only viable option for water protectors to find a voice.

The vote in favor of the bill for divestment from Wells Fargo — which also would require the city to consider social justice principles prior to approving major projects — was immediately hailed as a telling win for Indigenous rights and environmental concerns.

According to the Times, Wells Fargo manages more than $3 billion of Seattle’s operating budget, “including a bi-weekly payroll of $30 million for about 12,000 employees. The average daily balance in the city’s account with Wells Fargo is about $73 million.

“Wells Fargo, along with 16 other banks, is a lender to the Dakota Access Pipeline project. Wells Fargo has $120 million in a $2.5 billion credit agreement funding the pipeline project, according to Jessica Ong, with Wells Fargo corporate communications.”

Pressure from a disaffected public on major banks has worked in favor of pipeline opposition before, as DNB — Norway’s largest bank — pulled all its assets from the project in November after receiving a petition with over 120,000 signatures gathered by Greenpeace.

Permanently halting the Dakota Access Pipeline has begun to seem next to impossible — particularly under the oil and gas industry-friendly Trump administration.

Water protectors have been asked by the Standing Rock Sioux tribal leadership to leave the camps as spring flooding of the entire area is just around the corner. Native and non-native water protectors who have vowed to stay in the area have begun the long cleanup and relocation to higher ground.

At the time this article went to publication, rumors had begun swirling police and National Guard were poised and ready to evacuate the camps by force, though those had yet to be confirmed.

Standing Rock and the Dakota Access Pipeline project has sparked a national and international movement to oppose frivolous and unnecessary new fossil fuel projects — but time doesn’t seem to be cooperating.

Trump’s Pick to Head Department of Energy is a Board Member of the Company Behind DAPL

President-Elect Donald Trump has chosen Rick Perry — a sitting board member of the company responsible for constructing the Dakota Access Pipeline — for Secretary of Energy.

While corporate media immediately criticized the choice as a troubling — particularly given the former governor of Texas once sought to eliminate the same department he’ll now head — Perry’s position on the board of directors of Energy Transfer Partners should not be downplayed.

It’s been widely rumored the president-elect plans to remove all obstacles to the completion of the Dakota Access Pipeline — and a brief revisiting of Rick Perry’s involvement with the project evinces a high degree of truth to those rumors.

Construction of Dakota Access is now technically on hold following a refusal by the Army Corps of Engineers to issue the easement necessary for the pipeline to run under the Missouri River’s Lake Oahe reservoir — the sole source of drinking water for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe — until a full environmental impact study can be performed.

Energy Transfer Partners, however, immediately balked and vowed to continue constructing the pipeline without rerouting from its current course — and unconfirmed reports indicated the company would or is doing so and plans to pay fines for ignoring the USACE denial of easement.

With the DAPL project already fraught with controversy, this announcement from ETP quashed momentary celebrations by those opposed to the project — and refocused scorn against billionaire CEO Kelcy Warren and his company.

Unsurprisingly, Perry’s status as an ETP board member is already expected to be a point of contention during confirmation hearings for his appointment to the DOE — but his ties to the Dakota Access Pipeline project have a decidedly crucial aspect the mainstream press appears to have forgotten.

On February 3, 2015, while facing two state-level felony charges for abuse of power that were later dismissed, Perry landed a fortuitous spot on ETP’s board — a position not deemed suspicious due to the Texan’s healthy relationship with the oil and gas industry. In retrospect, it should have raised eyebrows.

In order to ensure Perry’s place on the board did not present any conflicts of interest, ETP had to state as much in its filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission:

“There are no arrangements or understandings with the Partnership, or any other persons, pursuant to which Mr. Perry was appointed as a director of Energy Transfer Partners, L.L.C. […] At this time, the Partnership is not aware of any transactions, since the beginning of the Partnership’s last fiscal year, or any currently proposed transactions, in which the Partnership was or is to be a participant involving amounts exceeding $120,000, and in which Mr. Perry had or will have a direct or indirect material interest.”

Except, there were conflicts of interest — staggeringly so — and Perry and ETP stood to collect a financial windfall from his convenient insider spot with the company, no matter how innocuous it seemed to have a Big Oil proponent on the board of a Big Oil company.

Exactly one day prior to his appointment to the board of directors, Perry appeared in an interview for a local NBC affiliate to champion the Bakken Pipeline (DAPL’s alternate name) and explain to Iowans why they should support construction — a tough sell for many considering the crafty use of eminent domain to install the pipeline where property owners resisted it. Perry’s publicly advocating the pipeline would normally be expected given his longstanding Big Oil ties, but the timing of the ETP appointment the following day cannot be ignored — especially when further details are scrutinized.

Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners CEO Kelcy Warren contributed massive amounts to Rick Perry’s political career, donating $250,000 to his presidential super PAC in 2012, alone. But, as The Free Thought Project reported previously, that wasn’t the most controversial contribution:

“In 2015, Perry raised eyebrows by kicking off his presidential campaign while failing to resign from ETP’s board, as would be de rigueur for candidates ensuring constituents no conflicts of interest would arise between their private and public lives. Incidentally, and also while Perry remained on the board of directors, Warren — working as the candidate’s campaign finance chairman — contributed an astonishing $6 million to the candidate’s campaign super PACs.”

Perry’s position on ETP’s board of directors presented an astonishingly prime opportunity to ensure the removal of roadblocks the Dakota Access Pipeline faced in becoming an absurdly profitable project for investors — the lifting of a ban on the export of unrefined crude in place since the 1970s.

When ETP officially proposed DAPL, the project was billed as an opportunity to break America’s dependence on imported foreign oil — but that claim was a flagrant perfidy from the start.

Just one month after landing the spot on the board of directors, Perry began aggressively lobbying for a piece of legislation, H.R. 2029 — officially the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016, but better known as the leviathan omnibus spending bill — stuffed with a rider invaluable to Energy Transfer Partners’ future profits.

Indeed, the voluminous bill carried multiple disparate but equally controversial measures — but none as critical to the oil and gas industry, and ETP specifically, as Section 101’s lifting of the ban on exporting unrefined crude. Dakota Access will transport Bakken sweet, light crude from North Dakota through South Dakota and Iowa to an existing hub in Illinois, where it will then make its way to the Gulf Coast.

While ETP had originally touted the crude would be used domestically, H.R. 2029 — which was signed into law by President Obama in December 2015 — ensured no obligation for the company to keep the oil in the United States.

Perry, together with the bill’s sponsor, House Republican Charles ‘Charlie’ Dent — who also stands to profit handily from the Dakota Access Pipeline — worked tirelessly for its passage.

Now, still sitting on Energy Transfer Partners board of directors, Rick Perry will head the Trump administration’s Department of Energy — with all the flagrant biases and industry and corporate favoritism which paved the way for construction of the pipeline in the first place. With billionaire backers like Warren propping up Perry’s career, it would seem a foregone conclusion the appointment will stand.

Opposition to the Dakota Access Pipeline by the Standing Rock Sioux and countless others might indeed need a Hail Mary at this late date — but as the movement against unnecessary oil infrastructure benefiting no one but the corporate elite and Big Bank investors continues to gain momentum, Perry’s handiwork cannot be ignored.

Without Perry’s lobbying for Dent’s abhorrent bill, the export of unrefined crude might still be prohibited, as it had been since 1975. Finagling that one section of legislation essentially declared open season for Big Oil to run roughshod over the land in a free-for-all to ship U.S. crude around the world.

And now he will become Secretary of Energy.

People say the system is rigged for the rich and connected — and this is a prime example of why.

Major Victory! One of the Largest Banks Funding DAPL Just Pulled Its Assets from the Project

Water protectors from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe can now declare their most tangible victory to date — one of the heftiest investors in the Dakota Access Pipeline, Norway’s largest bank, has pulled its assets from the project.

Just 10 days ago, DNB warned it might withdraw funding for construction of the contentious pipeline if concerns raised by the Standing Rock Sioux were not addressed promptly. That statement, cited by Reuters, read:

“DNB looks with worry at how the situation around the pipeline in North Dakota has developed. The bank will therefore take initiative and use its position to bring about a more constructive process to find a solution to the conflict.

“If these initiatives do not give appeasing answers and results, DNB will consider its further involvement in the financing of the project.”

Now, in a display of astonishing integrity, the bank has followed through on part of its promise — pulling assets invested in Energy Transfer Partners’ disputatious pipeline.

A statement from DNB explains an independent review has begun to assess whether Energy Transfer Partners — the conglomerate of companies responsible for construction of Dakota Access — has trampled or safeguarded the rights of the Standing Rock Sioux water protectors. Selling its assets indicates DNB intends to keep its pledge to withdraw all funding — amounting to 10 percent of the project’s total loans — should the investigation find rights of the First Nation are indeed being violated.

News of the asset selloff follows the delivery of a 120,000-signature petition by Greenpeace Norway and other advocates to DNB urging it and other financiers to yank all funding for Dakota Access. Greenpeace lauded DNB’s selling of assets in the project, but, in a tempered statement, noted the move did not fully meet demands of those concerned about human and civil rights violations.

Greenpeace Norway Sustainable Finance Campaigner Martin Norman explained:

“It is great that DNB has sold its assets in the disputed pipeline, and it is a clear signal that it is important that people speak out when injustice is committed. We now expect DNB to also terminate its loans for the project immediately.

“There should be a clause in the lending agreement that deals with human rights violations, and DNB should use it to get its money back and end all involvement in the Dakota Access pipeline. If they don’t have such a clause they must accept they have a bad contract and take the loss.”

Although that scenario would certainly be ideal for the Standing Rock Sioux water protectors — enduring the full force of an evidently callous oil interest backed by taxpayer-funded, over-militarized police from five states — DNB is the first big financier of the project to make an appreciable move to distance itself from pipeline construction.

Lilian Molina, spokesperson for Greenpeace USA, recognized the significance of the bank’s actions, stating:

“The news that DNB has sold its assets and is considering terminating its loans is a victory for the water protectors who are fighting to stop this disaster of a project. All financial institutions with a stake in the pipeline must quickly realize that financing this project is toxic. It would be smart for them to get out ahead of the growing movement of customers looking to divest from banks that finance the destruction of our planet and ignore Indigenous rights and sovereignty. Citigroup, TD Securities, Wells Fargo, SunTrust, and the other banks backing this project should see this as a sign to get on the right side of history.”

Indeed, a movement initiated in solidarity with Dakota Access Pipeline opposition and Indigenous water protectors suggests individuals withdraw money and close personal and business accounts with financiers of the project.  

Several prominent figures have added their voice to this growing call to exit Big Banks, including iconic actress, Susan Sarandon, and Oscar-nominated documentary producer, Matthew Cooke.

Cooke filmed his account-closing odyssey and switch to a credit union to show how a simple move — amplified by thousands of individuals following suit — would send a direct message to parties responsible for the project.

With ongoing force employed by militarized police against largely peaceful Native American water protectors and their supporters — including Tasers, rubber bullets, pepper spray, sound cannons, and more — even the public-at-large has grown ambivalent to construction of the pipeline.

Amid pressure from Dakota Access opposition, the Army Corps of Engineers — responsible for granting an easement for ETP to route the pipeline under the Missouri River — announced this week the halt of pipeline construction and a delay in the permitting process in order to better consult with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe about its concerns.

That delay, while a definitive victory for the tribe, constitutes a double-edged sword with time quickly running low before decidedly pro-Big Oil President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January. In its announcement, the Army Corps stated it would work with the Standing Rock Sioux on a timeline for that consultation, but no further statement of an agreed deadline has yet been made.

Undoubtedly, the exploding grassroots campaign of solidarity with water protectors is squeezing the vise-grip on Dakota Access Pipeline investors, as police use of excessive force and gestapo-like tactics against Native Americans has conjured the specter of past atrocities against Indigenous peoples by the U.S. government. State-sponsored, corporate-approved law enforcement ferocity in this matter have soured even the apathetic to this pipeline.

It appears at least doubtful the Standing Rock Sioux will see their ultimate goal of permanently halting the pipeline come to fruition; but, if the Army Corps refuses to grant the necessary easement under Nationwide Permit 12, Energy Transfer Partners would be faced with a formidable obstacle to complete Dakota Access.

Victories of every magnitude are tallying rapidly for pipeline opposition and protectors of the water, as Greenpeace’s Molina noted optimistically,

“The writing’s on the wall for the Dakota Access pipeline. People power is winning.”

Protests are Working! — Major Bank Considers Pulling Funds from DAPL if Violations Continue

While election madness reached full tilt in recent days, opposition to the Dakota Access Pipeline experienced a quiet victory — Norway’s largest bank, DNB, will consider pulling its hefty investment in the project if concerns from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe are not addressed.

DNB, EcoWatch reports, has reportedly loaned around $350 million to Energy Transfer Partners for the construction of the pipeline — fully 10 percent of the total cost — but is worried the rights of Native Americans are being trampled in the process.

“DNB looks with worry at how the situation around the pipeline in North Dakota has developed,” the financier said in a statement cited by Reuters. “The bank will therefore take initiative and use its position to bring about a more constructive process to find a solution to the conflict.

“If these initiatives do not give appeasing answers and results, DNB will consider its further involvement in the financing of the project.”

Apprehension over solicitous violence police have employed against the Standing Rock Sioux water protectors and their supporters drove the bank to review its investment in the enormously controversial pipeline. Multiple clashes between law enforcement and peaceful opposition finally began leading international headlines after American corporate media largely ignored escalating tensions.

Standing Rock Sioux Tribe members — and Indigenous peoples from First Nations around the planet, as well as activists and supporters — have occupied several camps along the Missouri River near Cannon Ball, North Dakota, since spring in an attempt to obstruct further construction of Dakota Access.

In bold response, ETP hired private security mercenaries untrained in such matters, who unleashed vicious dogs indiscriminately against a crowd of unarmed but angry water protectors whose sole ‘crime’ constituted trespassing to perform a ceremonial prayer. At least six people were mauled by the dogs in the chaos, and several journalists and activists faced lengthy jail terms.

Since that time, following the mercenaries’ departure, obscenely over-militarized police with tanks better suited for a battlefield of war from at least five states were deployed to patrol on behalf of ETP — and have been no more forgiving than the private firm.

Water protectors, activists, and journalists have been pepper-sprayed, maced, beaten, shot with bean bag projectiles and rubber bullets, tasered, blasted by LRAD and sound cannons, and have been strip-searched, detained in dog kennels, had their arms marked with numbers — and generally been treated contemptibly by every law enforcement agency involved.

Police violence and tactics have been so deplorable, representatives from United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues have been amassing testimony from witnesses and victims about excessive force, unlawful arrests, and mistreatment in jail, EcoWatch reports.

Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) deployed human rights observers to monitor the situation for the same reasons.

“Our observers are here to ensure that everyone’s human rights are protected […]

“People here just want to stand up for the rights of Indigenous people and protect their natural resources. These people should not be treated like the enemy,” asserted Eric Ferrero, director of communications for AIUSA. “Police must keep the peace using minimal force appropriate to the situation. Confronting men, women, and children while outfitted in gear more suited for the battlefield is a disproportionate response.”

Beyond appalling police interactions, ETP seemed to intentionally destroy a large swath of sacred land Standing Rock Sioux historians had only recently been able to assess for cultural value.

Unsurprisingly, tepid requests by President Obama and several federal officials for ETP to halt construction until a tribal lawsuit, currently languishing in court, and further permit reviews conclude, have been brazenly ignored. To wit, further construction of Dakota Access as opposition continues its fight have brought the pipeline to the banks of the Missouri River’s Lake Oahe reservoir — the exact point of contention as water protectors worry a leak or spill would contaminate tribal drinking water and that of around 18 million people downstream.

Using the chaos and distraction of Election Day, ETP announced it will move forward with drilling to begin installation of pipeline beneath Lake Oahe in just two weeks, intimating it would do so with or without appropriate permits — in a flagrant defiance requests to stop construction, potentially exacerbating further violence by police against angered water protectors.

DNB apparently views these acts as unacceptable, and if the situation worsens — as it likely will should ETP follow through on its Election Day declaration — it appears the bank stands ready to revoke its financial support.

If so, the bold move could inspire other major investors — fearful of ruining their reputations by supporting human rights abuses — to follow suit, particularly if the public applies pressure.

In the meantime, water protectors from the Standing Rock Sioux and their supporters face a particularly bitter North Dakota winter on the open plains. Viewing their prayerful movement as protection of water for future generations, none of those camped in the pipeline’s path have plans of leaving until the “black snake” is stopped in its tracks.