Two years ago in North Dakota, after months of protest by thousands of indigenous and environmental activists, pipeline opponents celebrated when the Obama administration denied a key permit for the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL).
"It turned out to be a massive gathering — a world-wide gathering," recalls current Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Council Chairman Mike Faith.
I haven’t really left," laughs Cowboy.
He pleaded guilty to civil disorder charges.
Lawsuits continue Two years later, the legal system in North Dakota is still busy processing the people arrested during the anti-DAPL protests.
And in yet another case, tribal members and others filed suit over the shutdown of a local highway near the protests for five months.
But The Bismarck Tribune reported the tribe suffered a $6 million budget shortfall, largely because less money was coming in from the casino.
"People weren’t happy about what was going on and the way protesters were treating other people," Keller says.
Schulz says the protests cost his county nearly $40 million for police, fire, including repairing damaged infrastructure, cleaning-up protest camps and prosecutions.
North Dakota’s oil production is growing so fast the state likely will run out of pipeline capacity next year, which is one reason Energy Transfer recently announced it plans to expand its Dakota Access Pipeline so that it can transport even more oil.

This chilling admission by insiders at the blood transfusion centre comes amid reports that some patients were being dangerously exposed to cancer causing radiation, while most soils and Lake Victoria water are contaminated with toxic chemicals.
ALSO READ: Hyacinth ties Lake Victoria business The latest evidence by staff of the Nairobi Regional Blood Transfusion Centre (NRBTC) published early this month found blood prepared for transfusion contaminated with disease-causing germs.
Last year, the same team reported 18 per cent of tested samples of platelets concentrates had failed to meet required standards.
The blood bank’s head of Communication Kamotho Makara said they have already commissioned a new study to validate the findings indicating contamination of blood at the Nairobi centre.
In the same journal issue, patients and staff at the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) were reported to be dangerously exposed to cancer causing radiation.
The study involving 170 clinicians at KNH found almost half of them are likely to send patients for needless radiation diagnosis.
Almost 60 per cent of the doctors were found to refer patients for imaging even where not necessary.
These reports also coincide with the World Health Organisation (WHO) 2018 global data on cancer released in September that showed a disease on the match.
The team had sampled soils at various points between Kiambu and Mombasa and found high contamination with cancer causing chemicals.
Pesticide use in the region, are blamed for a 40 per cent decline of pollinating bees, 18 per cent of butterflies and a 10 per cent wildlife mortalities in the basin.

IBERVILLE PARISH, LA (WAFB) – Ibervilla Parish officials have announced a boil advisory has been issued for parts of the parish.
Intracoastal Water System West (Iberville Parish Water District 3) has announced an advisory for Highway 75 starting at Stampley Drive and ending in Bayou Pigeon.
All intersecting streets and subdivisions are affected, as well as both sides of the bayou.
Also included in the advisory is Highway 404 from Highway 75 to JP Oil.
Customers should disinfect their own water prior to consumption until they have been advised otherwise.
The advisory will be lifted upon notification from the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) that test samples indicate the water supply is safe.

Toxic WasteWater From Oil Fields Endangers CA Water Supply Fred Starrh’s family near Shafter, California, used to have good clean water under their land which they used for their crops.
Starrh said that was before oil companies next door started dumping their waste into open, unlined “percolation ponds” near their farm.
And, Starrh said, “They had about a mile of ponds.” The Starrh family sued the owner of those waste ponds, Aera Energy, a company owned by both ExxonMobil Energy and Shell Global, charging that Aera destroyed their fresh water by polluting the groundwater under the Starrh land through the continuous use of those open waste pits next door.
But here in California, oil companies can legally dump toxic waste onto the bare ground – into what are called “percolation ponds.” The waste comes from oil drilling, which requires an average of 12 gallons of water for every gallon of oil that is produced according to the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board (CVRWQCB) which oversees this open dumping.
According the CVRWQCB’s Incoming Executive Officer Patrick Pulupa, there are at least 1086 active wastewater ponds stretching from Monterey to Kern County.
NBC Bay Area’s Investigative Unit found even more active ponds that are not on the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board’s list.
Oil companies contend that the toxins are filtered out as the water seeps into the soil, but a report by the staff at the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board concludes polluted water has migrated underground 2.2 miles from the wastewater ponds in one instance and more than a mile in another instance.
He’s concerned that California’s current policy of allowing this kind of dumping in open pits jeopardizes water supplies which the state will need during future droughts.
With regard to the lawsuit from the Starrh family, Aera said, "The facts are that after years of litigation and three jury trials, there was never a finding linking Aera’s operations to damage to tree crops or harmed drinking water resources.
Fred’s son Larry Starrh saves much of his frustration and ire with the situation for state and local regulators more so than even the oil and gas companies.

Permaculture magazine Nearly 100,000 signatures have been made against the potential oil drilling (fracking) at Leith Hill in Surrey, due to water pollution concerns.
Over 91,500 people fear Leith Hill oil site may pollute local water A petition demonstrating public concern over the risk to local water supplies from oil drilling on Leith Hill is close to hundred thousand signatures.
The petition, hosted by 38 Degrees, which is addressed to the Environment Agency (EA) titled ‘Don’t risk water pollution from oil drilling on Leith Hill’ has been signed by over ninety-one thousand people, with more being added by the minute.
The organisers of the petition will be officially handing it in on Thursday 1 March at 6:30pm during a public consultation at the Dorking Halls, where residents have been invited to talk to EA representatives about how they will regulate the proposed oil and gas activities on Leith Hill in Surrey.
Short term oil extraction is increasingly being prioritised by our Government over the protection of our water resource.
Water will ultimately be much more valuable and important to our Nation than oil.
“Water is both a vital natural resource and a heritage, which must be protected, defended and treated as such.
Lester Sonden, then director of SESW, said he was concerned about the potential for long-term contamination of water sources.
However well-designed, there is a risk of failure at some time in the future.” Public confidence is also dropping in two of the companies responsible for the drilling to foot the bill should a clean up of this scale be necessary.
With over £50m wiped off UKOG’s share price recently due to possible formation damage at Broadford Bridge oil well in Sussex and Europa’s share price going steadily down by over 66% in 5yrs, from over 12p in April 2013 to 3.85p on Wed 21st Feb, campaigners against the drilling fear this could end up costing the tax payer a lot more than they bargained for, as well as causing irreparable damage to our water.

"The construction and operation of energy infrastructure in North America requires respect for rigorous standards of environmental review and the human rights of Indigenous Peoples," the resolution says.
They cite the United Nations’ Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as a measure of the expectations for considering the rights of indigenous people to "free, prior and informed consent prior to the approval of any projects affecting their traditional territory."
So, they are asking Marathon to prepare a report that describes the review process used to identify and address environmental and social risks in reviewing potential acquisitions.
Human Rights Risks Are Investment Risks The resolution by Marathon shareholders is one of more than two dozen resolutions on environmental matters filed with oil and gas companies.
Marathon shareholders filed a similar resolution last year that met resistance from the company but still earned approval by 35 percent of the company’s stockholders who voted.
Although the office declined to discuss the resolution in detail, Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said a year ago that investors had a right to know how Marathon considered the rights of indigenous peoples.
"Risks to the environment and to human rights create risks for our pension fund’s investments and should be addressed as part of a sustainable business plan."
Why Marathon Says It Opposed the Resolution The company, in its proxy statement last year, said it "respects the human, cultural and legal rights of individuals and communities" but still urged shareholders to reject the resolution.
Preparing the kind of reports sought through the resolution would require a highly customized study of projects under consideration, the company’s 2017 proxy statement said.
The Dakota Access pipeline is part of Marathon’s 8,300 mile pipeline system.

Oil spill clean-up delay angers Ogoniland residents.
BODO, Nigeria – Under a leaden sky in oil-rich southern Nigeria, young men hang around with nothing to do, covering their noses from the noxious fumes of the polluted swamp.
The sight in Bodo, some 40 kilometres (25 miles) southeast of Port Harcourt, is repeated in communities elsewhere in the maze of creeks that criss-cross Ogoniland.
"The people of Ogoni still cannot have access to safe drinking water, not to talk of electricity, basic schools and roads," he told AFP.
Anger in Nigeria’s south over oil spill clean-up delay https://t.co/ilvBUDhtXR #tech #science — oniverse (@theoniverse) June 22, 2017 In June 2016, Nigeria’s Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo formally launched the project, which the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) said could take 30 years.
Fish and carcinogens Ignatius Feegha, 41, used to catch fish as a child in the waterways of the Niger Delta.
"We can’t see no fish in this water because the water is stained with crude oil," he said.
He said the youths who were unemployed insisted on being paid the money instead of allowing Shell to give the job to contractors.
So Shell, which had already engaged two companies to do the job, had to back out," he added.
READ: Oil spill as militants blow up pipelines in south Nigeria Agbulu said Shell was not ready to give cash to the youths and since they would not allow the contractors to handle the job, decided to suspend the clean-up.

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STANDING ROCK — After months of protests, lawsuits and occasional clashes, oil started flowing Thursday through the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline.
The 1,172-mile-long pipeline is now in full commercial use, said Vicki Granado, spokeswoman for Energy Transfer Partners — the pipeline’s developer.
The $3.7 billion project, which stretches across four states, drew fierce resistance from the Standing Rock Sioux tribe in North Dakota, its allies and environmentalists.
“Now that the Dakota Access Pipeline is fully operational, we find it more urgent than ever that the courts and administration address the risks posed to the drinking water of millions of American citizens,” said Dave Archambault II, chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux.
It’s expected to move 470,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
Opposition to the pipeline sparked months-long protests, with as many as 10,000 people participating during the peak of the demonstrations.
The Oceti Sakowin camp, the main protest camp closest to the pipeline, was cleared in February following an emergency evacuation order signed by North Dakota Gov.
The Standing Rock Sioux tribe had also asked protesters to leave, saying the fight over the pipeline belongs in court.
In February, the US Army Corps of Engineers granted permission for the last stretch of the pipeline, under Lake Oahe, which had been opposed by Native Americans and environmentalists.

Drinking water around an oil-producing area in South Sudan is heavily polluted. A German NGO puts the blame on Malaysian oil company Petronas. It has also become a subject of embarrassment for carmaker Daimler. Klaus Stieglitz came across the problem of drinking water by chance. “In 2007, one of our project partners informed us that the water tasted bad,” he said. Stieglitz and his colleagues at the aid organization “Sign of Hope” went ahead to investigate the situation in South Sudan. They collected water samples near the oil fields in Thar Jath in Unity State. The analysis showed that the taste was the smallest problem. Water from some wells had a salt content almost four times higher than allowed. Now Sign of Hope has presented the results of another study in Berlin. It is based on analysis of 96 hair samples collected in four locations. Toxicologist Fritz Prangst evaluated the results. The professor from the Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences at Berlin’s Charite Hospital, says the findings represent “a threat to the population.” Traces of lead and barium Samples from the areas around the oil fields were full of lead and barium. The worst hit location was Koch, 14 miles away from the oil field. The exposure to lead there was four times higher than the average. On the other hand, In Rumbek, about 137 miles…

Table of Content Introduction A very serious issue in turbine and other industrial oils is water contamination, and water testing forms a part of any lubricant condition monitoring program. Turbine oils normally are formulated to have oxidation resistance, high thermal stability, and exceptional water separation. Lubricants that are commercially available specifically for steam turbines or gas turbines, are fabricated with specific additive formulations, but there are also numerous oils that can function with different types of turbines. Gas turbines tend to build up sludge and varnish while steam turbines may experience foaming, oxidation, and sludge. However, water contamination in turbine systems is a concern. Severe water contamination can result in changes in the oil’s viscosity, additive depletion, accelerated oxidation, and reduced bearing life. Turbine manufacturers commonly advise a warning alarm limit of