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Fact: The Dakota Access Pipeline does not encroach on any tribal lands.

Contrary to previous claims by Greenpeace, the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) does not cross any Native American lands, nor does the pipeline traverse any Standing Rock Sioux Tribe property at all. 99% of the Dakota Access Pipeline is installed on privately owned property in North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and Illinois.

The only portion that DAPL traverses that is not privately owned is beneath Lake Oahe, which is federally owned. The lake’s waters are federally owned and regulated as well. As part of their effort to raise funds and incite anti-DAPL protests, Greenpeace repeatedly made false claims regarding DAPL’s route.

The current pipeline route was selected after extensive civil, environmental and archaeological surveys to mitigate the pipeline’s environment footprint and to determine the pipeline’s safest route for construction and operation. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers looked at the crossing north of Bismarck in its environmental assessment and concluded it was not a “viable alternative” for many reasons, including that the route would have crossed more waterbodies and wetlands and affected more acres of land. Additionally, that route was constrained by the Public Service Commission’s rule requiring a 500-foot buffer between pipelines and homes.