BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The head of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe is asking a federal agency overseeing the environmental review of the Dakota Access oil pipeline to cut ties with a contractor conducting the analysis, citing a conflict of interest.
Chairman Mike Faith and other tribal leaders sent a letter Wednesday to a top U.S. Army Corps of Engineers official, taking issue with the Environmental Resources Management, a London-based company that’s doing the review, and its ties to the oil industry.
Among their concerns is that the company is a member of the American Petroleum Institute, a trade group that lobbies for the oil industry and has submitted court briefs supporting Dakota Access.
