Substantial concerns over the the safety and environmental impacts of the completion of an underground oil project have spurred protests across the United States. The Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL), is an oil pipeline currently being constructed by the natural gas company Energy Transfer Partners that will span nearly 1900 kilometers when finished. Stretching from North Dakota to Illinois, construction of the pipeline began last year and is expected to be used to transport oil as soon as next week.

When finished, the pipeline would carry oil from the Bakken Formation in North Dakota to petroleum refineries all around the nation. While supporters of the project argue that the DAPL will offer a dependable alternative to using methods such as a rail and road to transporting oil between long distances, opponents have expressed concern over two main issues. The first problem with the DAPL is the threat it poses to supplies of drinking water that residents who live near the route of the pipeline rely on.

In order to reach its eastern terminus in southern Illinois, the pipeline must go through land under the Missouri River. The North Dakota Public Service Commission has stated that the pipeline does not come in direct contact with the Missouri River, and in some places is as much as 90 feet below the riverbed, locals fear that in the event of an oil leak or spill, that this distance is not enough to ensure that water contamination does not occur. In response to this concern, the United States Army Corps of Engineers filed a Notice of Intent to conduct an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). Under their proposed EIS, alternative locations for the pipeline crossing the Missouri River would be considered as would the prospective impacts of an oil spill on water supply. However, less than a week later, President Trump signed an Executive Order that overrides much of the standard environmental review of the pipeline and progressed its construction.

Natural habitats of endangered species may be damaged through the DAPL project as well. The primary threat of the pipeline to endemic fauna is the potential of an oil spill that could affect aquatic species such as the northern river otter and nearly a dozen types of fish. Other species that live on land would not go unaffected though. Some of the other animals that live near the pipeline route include the grey wolf and the swift fox. Unfortunately, the chances of an oil spill seem high for this project. Sunoco, the petrochemical company that will be in charge of the pipeline when completed, has a highly inauspicious record of oil spills. An analysis of government data by Reuters found that since 2010, Sunoco has had over 200 leaks from onshore pipelines it operates. This inauspicious record makes it the top major company in the U.S. with the highest number of crude leaks.

Beyond environmental harms the DAPL poses, the completion of this project has met a great deal of resistance from Native American tribes. Much political opposition from Native peoples comes from previously stated environmental concern, but also because of the specific route the pipeline takes. When completed, the pipeline will pass under Lake Oahe, which is a major water source for the Standing Rock Indian Reservation. In the case of a spill, their water supply could be tainted and contamination could pose a serious threat to public health. Additionally, this land that the pipeline passes under is considered a sacred burial ground of the ancestors of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe. Accordingly, local people have expressed their discontent with the current route of the oil pipeline. After the action of the Trump Administration to pursue action to continue the completion of the DAPL, protests have continued and public opposition remains noticeable in response to the likely harm that the project will have on the environment, endangered species, public health, and native peoples.