30 Bakken Pipeline fighters join Tar Sands March
Iowa CCI members and Bakken Coalition join 5,000 protesters at Tar Sands Resistance March in St. Paul, MN
30 Iowans joined regional pipeline fighters in largest Midwest rally against Big Oil as IUB sets schedule for public hearing on proposed Bakken Pipeline
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Des Moines, IA: Thirty Iowans fighting against the proposed Bakken Pipeline joined with 5,000 protesters at a St. Paul rally known as the Tar Sands Resistance March on June 6th. The event brought together activists and organizers from across the Midwest in the biggest rally against the fossil fuel industry in the region to date. Pipeline fighters from South Dakota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Illinois participated in the march.
Iowans joined the march out of recognition that the proposed Bakken Pipeline isn’t a situation unique to our state. Folks in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Nebraska, and South Dakota are all facing similar proposals in their communities. Standing in solidarity with our neighbors to fight against the injustices of the fossil fuel industry, as described by indigenous communities, landowners, and folks in refining communities, is an essential component of winning our local fight against Energy Transfer Partners.
Jan Stephan, CCI member of Iowa City, added, “I went because I think we have to do something. I don’t want my children and grandchildren to wonder why we didn’t do anything about climate change. The entire Midwest has to stick together- we have to support everyone else that’s fighting pipelines, and they can support us too. It’s all a connected system. We can’t just fight one pipeline, we have to fight them all.”
Other Iowans joined because of how these proposals would impact our water and air resources. Tom Mohan, a CCI member of Cedar Rapids, said that it is “important to play a part in the regional struggle for clean air and water.” About the march generally, he shared, “It was exciting to offer solidarity with our brothers and sisters in nearby Midwest states and say no to dirty oil!”
Patti McKee, a CCI member of Des Moines, thought that it was good to see that we are not alone in our struggle against the Bakken Pipeline. “It’s really good for people to come together to realize they are not alone in their communities.” She added, “We need to let other people know that we are out here- getting the word out that this is a problem happening across the Midwest, across the country, and across the globe. We need to let people know that we are here, and that we are not going to back down.”
The march highlighted the injustices of the fossil fuel industry from extraction point to refinement. Indigenous communities from the Bakken region of North Dakota and different parts of Minnesota led the march. Landowners in the pathway of the Keystone XL Pipeline marched alongside fellow Nebraskans and pipeline activists. One woman, Emma Lockridge of Detroit, spoke about the severe health problems her predominately black community faces as a result of Marathon’s tar sands refinery.
To Emma, this was a case of environmental racism. She shared, “They have to let us out or we are going to die. They gave white people money to leave so why can’t we leave?” Later she shared her thoughts on fossil fuel infrastructure in the United States by adding, “It all needs to go. From coast to coast. All the pipelines. All the refineries. All the trains. I don’t care if its tar sands or hydraulic fracking. At the end of the pipeline there are people who look like me and we’re dying.”
News of this injustice comes as the Iowa Utilities Board has set a schedule for the public hearing on the proposed Bakken Pipeline in Iowa. They hope to have all of the permits in order so that a public hearing can be held in the latter part of 2015. The IUB has set aside the dates of November 12th through December 2nd for that purpose.
Iowa CCI intends to continue to work with and build relationships with regional partners as the fight against the Bakken Pipeline progresses. Partners from Nebraska and Minnesota have already expressed interest in collaborating in the future
.Iowa CCI is part of a growing number of organizations, landowners, and everyday citizens across the state committed to stopping the proposed Bakken Pipeline under the banner of the Bakken Pipeline Resistance Coalition. Iowa CCI is currently planning community meetings across the state in the counties impacted by the proposed Bakken Pipeline.
Iowa CCI is a statewide, grassroots people’s action group that uses community organizing to win public policy that puts communities before corporations and people before profits, politics, and polluters. For more information, visit www.iowacci.org.