More Great Environmental News: The Dakota Pipeline is Leaking Before It’s Even Finished

Remember how all those people, including many Native Americans, protested for months at Standing Rock, afraid that a potential leak in the Dakota Access pipeline would poison their water and damage their environment? And remember how they were cruelly booted out so the project could go ahead?

Well, read this, from The Guardian:

The Dakota Access pipeline has suffered its first leak, outraging indigenous groups who have long warned that the project poses a threat to the environment.

The $3.8bn oil pipeline, which sparked international protests last year and is not yet fully operational, spilled 84 gallons of crude oil at a South Dakota pump station, according to government regulators.

Yup—it’s spilling oil, and it’s not even finished. The leak, which happened in early April, was allegedly contained and cleaned without causing much damage, but it’s a terrible sign for a multi-billion dollar project that already enjoys zero confidence from the people it would directly affect.

“They keep telling everybody that it is state of the art, that leaks won’t happen, that nothing can go wrong,” said Jan Hasselman, a lawyer for the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, which has been fighting the project for years. “It’s always been false. They haven’t even turned the thing on and it’s shown to be false.”

Bill McKibben, a leading environmentalist and activist from the #NoDAPL protests, had his own perspective:

Pretty impressive that the Dakota pipeline is starting to leak before it’s even fully up and running https://t.co/QyAQmFWdAI

— Bill McKibben (@billmckibben) May 11, 2017

It took a local reporter to uncover the spill from a month ago, and the total amount spilled is estimated at 84 gallons of crude oil. The cause of the failure was a mechanical issue at a surge pump. The pipeline is currently in the “final stages” of construction, and will begin transporting oil upon completion.