the chief executive of the company building the contested dakota access pipeline said obama administration delays are cutting into revenue but won<u+2019>t stop the pipeline from moving forward under a trump administration, or sooner if a federal court intervenes. <u+201c>i<u+2019>m pretty confident that worst case, jan. 20, we get our easement and proceed,<u+201d> said kelcy warren, the head of dallas-based energy transfer partners lp, in an interview<u+00a0>wednesday, referring to the day donald trump is to become president. as protests by native americans and environmentalists continue to flare in north dakota near a final reservoir crossing, mr. warren also said he would like to meet with dave archambault ii, the chairman of the standing rock sioux tribe, to reassure him about the pipeline<u+2019>s safety. <u+201c>what we can do now is assure that this pipeline will be safe, efficient and well constructed,<u+201d> mr. warren said. <u+201c>that<u+2019>s one reason i<u+2019>d like to meet with mr. archambault, to make sure he<u+2019>s comfortable with that.<u+201d> mr. archambault couldn<u+2019>t immediately be reached for comment. in a recent interview, he said the tribe wasn<u+2019>t included<u+00a0>in a meaningful way in discussions to approve the pipeline<u+2019>s route. he said he has the same safety concerns as people in bismarck who fought a river crossing there. since august, hundreds of protesters have camped in teepees and tents near cannon ball, n.d., where the pipeline will cross lake oahe, a missouri river reservoir. the standing rock sioux have opposed the pipeline, arguing in a federal lawsuit against the u.s. army corps of engineers that the project endangers drinking water and sacred sites. the 1,172-mile pipeline, which would carry crude oil from the bakken shale in north dakota to refineries in illinois, has become a target for environmentalists around the world and a rallying cry for supporters of native american rights. <u+201c>it<u+2019>s amazing how this has blown up and become this international topic,<u+201d> said mr. warren, a texas billionaire who heads partnerships that own and operate 75,000 miles of pipelines. <u+201c>it<u+2019>s just hard to believe. this is just a pipeline. this is a pipeline that<u+2019>s going to transport crude safely and economically.<u+201d> mr. warren said he believed the army corps<u+2019> decision on<u+00a0>sept. 9<u+00a0>to review the easement for the lake oahe crossing was aimed at putting the decision off until after the presidential election.<u+00a0>on monday, the corps said it completed its review but wants more input from the tribe . <u+201c>now it appears just one more stalling tactic to get past the inauguration. that<u+2019>s how bad it is,<u+201d> mr. warren said. mr. warren said he has never met or spoken with president-elect trump, but he gave $100,000 this year to the trump victory fund after a friend asked if he would contribute. he said he also wasn<u+2019>t aware, until informed by a reporter recently, that mr. trump has an investment in energy transfer partners. according to mr. trump<u+2019>s campaign financial disclosure, he has investments valued at between $500,000 and $1 million in the pipeline builder. the trump transition team didn<u+2019>t respond to a request for comment. the companies building the dakota access pipeline still need to put some pipe in the ground in iowa. that will be completed by<u+00a0>dec. 1. at that point nearly $3.8 billion, the projected cost to build the pipeline, will have been spent, according to mr. warren. energy transfer and its affiliate sunoco logistics partners lp filed a motion in u.s. district court in washington, d.c.,<u+00a0>on monday<u+00a0>asking the court to declare that the companies already have approval from the corps to drill beneath lake oahe. mr. warren said he sympathized with the standing rock sioux, and acknowledged that many have protested peacefully. <u+201c>i really wish for the standing rock sioux that they had engaged in discussions way before they did,<u+201d> he said. <u+201c>i don<u+2019>t think we would have been having this discussion if they did. <u+201c>we could have changed the route,<u+201d> mr. warren added. <u+201c>it could have been done, but it<u+2019>s too late.<u+201d> write to kris maher at kris.maher@wsj.com
dakota pipeline<u+2019>s builder says obstacles will disappear under donald trump  - wsj
kris maher