Protestors Interrupt Meeting About Norman Oil Pipeline

<p>Protestors packed into the Norman council chambers Wednesday night to protest a new oil pipeline that would run through Norman.</p>

Thursday, August 25th 2016, 2:55 pm

By: Grant Hermes


In a heated protest Wednesday night, dozens of environmentalists and Native American tribal advocates interrupted a Norman board of Adjustment meeting over a proposed oil pipeline and the company behind it. 

The Red River Pipeline would stretch 350 miles from Longview, TX to Cushing, OK. A portion of the line would run through eastern Norman. According to the Plains All-American Pipeline company, which would install and own the line, the 16-inch wide pipeline could carry as much as 110,000 gallons of crude oil a day. 

Plains All-American Pipeline was given a floodplain permit from the City of Norman last month. The permit allows the company to dig under and near sources of water and the floodplain within Norman. Norman has strict floodplain ordinances because nearby Lake Thunderbird is a source of water for the town and several metro communities. 

Environmental concerns 

As many as 50 protestors stormed into the board meeting chanting “No water, No Life, No Plains Pipeline.” They were voicing their opposition to the line because of Plains All-American’s history of regulatory violations in the past. 

“Plains All-America has kind of a checkered record of whether or not they've had leaks and those sorts of things,” Dr. Stephen Ellis said Thursday. Ellis filed an appeal against the floodplain permit after being told the company did not fill out all the required paperwork. His appeal was dismissed.  

The pipeline company does have a nearly decade long record of violations. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, violations reports against Plains All-American Pipeline were dated back to at least 2008.  

The company was recently at the center of a massive oil leak that damaged a refuge beach near Santa Barbara, CA in May of 2015. That case led to widespread environmental harm and a several months long clean up. Eventually, the company was forced to pay $44-million. 

In Norman, the line would run beneath or around several sources of water. Protestors say that kind of proximity raises concerns about leeching or leakages into water, leading to potential contamination. 

Ellis said one of his concerns was whether or not Plain All-American would be using back fill, or dirt and soil removed during digging, to bury the pipeline. He said that kind of practice can lead to advance erosion.  

Tribal concerns 

Other protestors at the meeting were there on behalf of Oklahoma Native American tribes who said they were not consulted about the construction of the pipeline. 

“This is our actual homeland and we should’ve been contacted. We’ve never received any kind of notification,” Caddo Nation of Oklahoma Chairman Tamara Francis-Fourkiller said on Thursday. She said the Caddo nation was joined by members of the Delaware, Apache and Kiowa tribes among others.  

Pipeline companies are required by federal law to consult Native American tribes and nations prior to any movement on a pipeline to agree to construction parameters. The agreement is known as a programmatic agreement and allows for tribal oversight at work sights, 

“It’s important that that agreement was made before that hasn’t been done with this pipeline,” Francis-Fourkiller said. “What do you do if you come across burial or ancestral remains?” 

Francis-Fourkiller said the situation in Norman was similar to the saga currently playing out in North Dakota. Tribal members there have temporarily halted the construction of a pipeline running from North Dakota to Illinois for similar reasons over lack of consultation, which has been deemed by protestors to be “economic racism” 

“It doesn’t matter if they go right beside or right on one of our sacred areas. We’re not important to them,” Francis-Fourkiller said. “All of the land owners, the local town and communities they have been invited to consult on this pipeline. Their interests have been put forward and seen as important.” 

In a statement a Plains All-American Pipeline said, “We have engaged with stakeholders such as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, Tribal governments and the State Historical Preservation Office as mandated throughout this process, and will continue to do so as the circumstances require.” 

Francis-Fourkiller said neither she nor any members of the Caddo Nation have records of any consultation or contact with the company that would meet consultation requirements. She added she plans on demanding a face-to-face meeting with representatives with the company as the protest continues. 

Company Response 

In a statement, a Plains All-American Pipeline spokesperson responded to the board’s decision to uphold the floodplain permit and the protestors. 

“We’re pleased with the action taken by the Board of Adjustment yesterday to uphold our Floodplain Permit for constructing the Red River Pipeline within the City of Norman. We are confident that our application for a Floodplain Permit from the city of Norman was complete, and that the Norman Floodplain Committee properly issued our permit for construction of the Red River Pipeline. 

Plains All American Pipeline is committed to designing, constructing, operating and maintaining the Red River Pipeline in a safe and reliable manner, meeting or exceeding the required safety, design, construction and operating standards. The pipeline route was selected to minimize impact to the environment and to threatened or endangered species, and Plains has secured all the necessary access rights for the pipeline from affected property owners. We conducted the required environmental and archeological studies and we’re constructing the Red River Pipeline under the applicable permits.” 

There has not been any construction of the pipeline in Norman yet. It was unclear when digging could begin.

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