Oil industry urges Trump to approve Dakota Access pipeline

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Industry leaders are urging President-elect Donald Trump to make approval of the disputed Dakota Access oil pipeline a priority when he takes office next month, but a spokesman for Trump isn't offering many clues about how the incoming president might act.

The American Petroleum Institute represents the U.S. oil and natural gas industry, and the MAIN Coalition is made up of agriculture, business and labor entities that benefit from Midwest infrastructure projects.

Dallas-based pipeline developer Energy Transfer Partners said the decision is politically motivated and that President Barack Obama's administration is just delaying the matter until he leaves office.

The pipeline is projected to move a half-million barrels of crude oil daily to an existing pipeline in Patoka, Illinois, for shipment to Midwest and Gulf Coast markets.

Supporters say the pipeline will have safeguards against leaks, and is a safer way to move oil than trucks and trains, especially after a handful of fiery — and sometimes deadly — derailments of trains carrying North Dakota crude.

The Standing Rock Sioux, whose reservation straddles the North Dakota-South Dakota border, have challenged the Army Corps of Engineers' decision to grant permits at more than 200 water crossings.

The Corps of Engineers granted Energy Transfer Partners the permits needed for the crossing in July, but the federal government decided in September that further analysis was warranted given the tribe's concerns.