washington<u+2014>president barack obama waded into the escalating battle over the dakota access pipeline, voicing support for native american rights and saying his administration is reconsidering the project<u+2019>s route. his comments, made to mobile-news outlet nowthis news late tuesday, pleased some opponents of the 1,170-mile proposed pipeline, irked industry backers and revived arguments that dominated the yearslong battle over the keystone xl pipeline, a project mr. obama ultimately rejected . <u+201c>as a general rule, my view is that there is a way for us to accommodate sacred lands of native americans,<u+201d> mr. obama said in his most substantive remarks on the project to date. <u+201c>and i think, right now, that the army corps is examining whether there are ways to reroute this pipeline.<u+201d> the fight over the dakota access pipeline, which as planned would carry up to 570,000 barrels of oil a day from north dakota to illinois, has drawn national attention and become a flashpoint in the broader fight over fossil fuels and climate change. clashes between protesters and police at a site in north dakota have escalated in recent weeks, with protesters chaining themselves to equipment and both sides accusing the other of provoking violence. police and protesters clashed again on wednesday. this time, a standoff ensued when police prevented protesters from building a bridge over a river to gain access to private property near a pipeline construction site. the morton county sheriff<u+2019>s department said it used a boat to pull apart the makeshift bridge and that some protesters tried to swim across the river. in early september, a trio of federal agencies, led by the u.s. army corps of engineers, which has jurisdiction over some aspects of interstate oil pipeline permitting, took the unusual step of ordering a halt to work on the $3.8 billion pipeline, which is more than half constructed. the u.s. army corps of engineers said then it wouldn<u+2019>t authorize construction near lake oahe, a location that is culturally important to the standing rock sioux, until the agency determines if it needs to reconsider its previous approvals under federal law. at that time, the administration said it would likely be weeks, not months, before final resolution. almost two months later, mr. obama<u+2019>s comments tuesday suggested it could take longer still and that the administration is looking at how it could change the route. <u+201c>so we<u+2019>re going to let it play out for several more weeks and determine whether or not this can be resolved in a way that is properly attentive to the traditions of the first americans,<u+201d> mr. obama said to nowthis. cody schulz, chairman of morton county, where the standing rock sioux tribe has led protests, criticized mr. obama for saying his administration would let the situation <u+201c>play out<u+201d> for several more weeks. <u+201c>given the recent escalation of violence by protesters, letting the situation <u+2018>play out<u+2019> is quite literally putting lives in danger,<u+201d> mr. schulz said. a spokeswoman for energy transfer partners lp, which is building the pipeline, said the company isn't aware of any consideration being given to rerouting the project. she said the company also expects to receive the final federal approval for a disputed portion of the pipeline in a timely fashion. in an internal company memo on sept. 13, energy transfer ceo kelcy warren said the pipeline was nearly 60% complete and that the company had spent more than $1.6 billion on the project. <u+201c>the administration<u+2019>s actions to ignore the rule of law and change the rules, after required tribal consultation and permits have been issued through an open, transparent and established process, show that it is putting politics over process,<u+201d> said michael tadeo, spokesman for the american petroleum institute, a national trade group representing the oil-and-gas industry. the pipeline<u+2019>s route has already been changed more than once, including a shift away from a more heavily populated area near bismarck, n.d., to an area less than a mile away from the standing rock sioux reservation. the fight over dakota access is looking more like the lengthy war over the keystone xl pipeline. that fight was also initially over its route, dating back to 2009 and 2010, prompting a series of delays until mr. obama rejected it last november. despite key differences<u+2014>keystone<u+2019>s developer needed a special presidential permit to cross the canada-u.s. border, and the dakota access is already being built<u+2014>the national debate and the players on all sides are similar. among them is sen. bernie sanders (i., vt.). <u+201c>i am very grateful to president obama for listening to the voices of native americans and their many allies who have been protesting the dakota access pipeline,<u+201d> said mr. sanders, who recently appeared at a white house rally with opponents of the project. some of the pipeline<u+2019>s detractors criticized mr. obama for not saying he would reject the project outright. much of the technical debate centers on the route and whether and to what extent it may disrupt native american rights. but the broader push by environmentalists focuses on stopping the pipeline altogether in the name of climate change, again echoing the ultimate shape of the keystone debate. <u+201c>in suggesting that the pipeline could just be rerouted, obama misses the key element of resistance to dakota access,<u+201d> said wenonah hauter, executive director of food & water watch. <u+201c>all new fossil fuel infrastructure must be halted immediately, because our planet is on the brink of climate crisis and there is no excuse for building another 40 years of fossil fuel infrastructure.<u+201d> despite mr. obama<u+2019>s comments, the pipeline<u+2019>s fate will likely rest in the hands of the next president, given that the presidential election is less than a week away. neither democrat hillary clinton nor republican donald trump has taken a public position on the project. <u+2014>chester dawson contributed to this article.
obama shows support for native american rights in dakota access pipeline debate - wsj
amy harder kris maher