As construction of Keystone XL is suspended, tribes are preparing for the future

This week, a Montana federal judge temporarily blocked TransCanada's Keystone XL pipeline, which would ship oil over 1,000 miles from the oil sands from Alberta to Nebraska. The judge ordered an additional environmental review – a decision made by Aboriginal activist Angeline Cheek as a temporary victory.

"But also," she says, "our fight is never over."

Cheek lives near the Missouri River on the Fort Peck Indian Reserve in Montana. Missouri borders the reserve to the south and supplies much of its drinking water.

"We have to start thinking about the future as our ancestors thought," she says. "We can not forget who we are."

Although the Keystone XL pipeline can bring short-term employment opportunities to its supply, Cheek opposes it. She has led awareness campaigns and information workshops on the pipeline.

Until the court's decision on Thursday, many people in or near the Cheek Reserve were preparing for protests like Standing Rock. Now, the pipeline and preparations for the protest are on hold, for now.

Concerns about leaks and crime

Katie Thunderchild also lives on the Fort Peck Reserve and fears that if the pipeline is built, she may run away.

"Where does this leak go?" She goes in the water, she says. "And we drink that water and get sick, and it goes all the way down the line."

According to TransCanada, the pipeline will be buried more than 50 feet below the river. Federal regulations require that the pipeline be buried four feet below a major crossing of the river. TransCanada has state-of-the-art monitoring systems that can record pressure drops and shut down the pipeline in minutes.

But Thunderchild says she's also worried about the type of people that pipeline construction could bring. It's an isolated place – everyone knows everyone – but the Keystone developers are planning to build temporary housing near the Fort Peck Indian Reserve, in order to cope with a resurgence of workers out of the woods. 39; State.

"What's their background," says Thunderchild. "Did they commit a crime, do they involve children, firearms, etc.? Drugs?"

She is scared because of what happened during the oil boom near Bakken, when many men came to this isolated pocket of America to find work in the oil fields. . During this period, eastern Montana experienced an increase in sexual assault and violence. At least one murder was about to take hold when two men who came to look for work in the area killed a teacher.

Commitment to build

TransCanada says that they test all their employees, that they live in work camps equipped with security cameras and that they have a zero tolerance policy with respect to firearms.

The Keystone XL was blocked by the Obama administration in 2015, citing environmental and economic concerns. President Donald Trump has reinstated it and, now that a judge has suspended it, he expects this decision to be appealed.

"It was a political decision made by a judge," he told reporters on Friday. "I think it's a shame."

Trump said he hoped the pipeline would come about because of the jobs that it could generate.

"I approved it," he said. "He's ready to start."

In a news release, TransCanada indicated that it was exploring its options and that the company remained committed to building Keystone XL.

This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming public media, Boise State Public Radio (Idaho), Yellowstone Public Radio (Montana), KUER (Salt Lake City), KRCC and KUNC (Colorado). ).

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

The last chapter of the controversial Keystone pipeline was played late in the week. A Montana federal judge temporarily blocked the project and asked for an additional environmental review. Native activists applaud the judge's decision, but both sides predict that it is not over. Nate Hegyi of Yellowstone Public Radio.

NATE HEGYI, BYLINE: The construction of the Keystone XL pipeline was scheduled to begin in 2019.

(SOUND RECORDED ARCHIVED)

THE PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I approved it. It's ready to start.

HEGYI: President Donald Trump reactivated it after the Obama administration killed him in 2015, citing environmental and economic concerns. The pipeline would carry oil more than 1,000 miles from the oil sands of Alberta, Canada, Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska. And this week, a Montana federal court has blocked him.

(SOUND RECORDED ARCHIVED)

TRUMP: Well, it was a political decision made by a judge. I think it's a shame.

HEGYI: Trump blew the turnaround before flying to France. Aboriginal activist Angeline Cheek lives on the Fort Peck Indian Reserve in Montana. For her, it's a small victory.

ANGELINE CHEEK: But also true, our fight is never over.

HEGYI: The court has decided that Keystone State Department and developer TransCanada will have to re-examine the environmental and economic impacts of the project before proceeding. Chees says she's wary of the temporary nature of the judge's decision. This does not end the construction of the pipeline. Instead, he presses pause.

CHEEK: The keywords are up to new order.

HEGYI: The pipeline would cross the Missouri River in Montana. It is an important source of water for the Fort Peck Reserve. TransCanada says the pipeline would be buried more than 50 feet below the river. The company has state-of-the-art monitoring systems that can record pressure drops and shut down the pipeline in minutes. Katie Thunderchild lives in the Fort Peck Reserve. She is not sold.

KATIE THUNDERCHILD: You know, what if it leaked? You know, we can not predict that. You know, they break.

HEGYI: And she says that a leak would get into their drinking water.

THUNDERCHILD: We drink that water, then we get sick, and then it goes all the way down the line.

HEGYI: Thunderchild says she's also worried about the type of people that building a pipeline would bring. Keystone developers are planning temporary housing to deal with the influx of outside workers.

THUNDERCHILD: What are their antecedents? Did they commit a crime? Does it involve children? Do you know, firearms and all the other stuff and drugs?

HEGYI: She's scared because of what happened during the oil boom near Bakken. Many men have come to this isolated pocket of America to find work in the oil fields. During this period, rates of sexual assault and violence were higher in eastern Montana, and at least one murder was committed in the boom when two men who came for work in the area killed a teacher. TransCanada says that they are testing the drugs of all their workers, that they live in work camps with security cameras and that they have a zero tolerance policy with respect to guns. fire. But Thunderchild has two young girls and the pipeline project scares her. She watches one of them play in the grass. She says that the pipeline carries too much risk for her people, her water and her future. Her kids think about this when they drink water on the reserve, she says.

THUNDERCHILD: The kids know. They know what's right and what's wrong.

HEGYI: Prior to this decision, the community of Thunderchild and other residents of eastern Montana were preparing for a possible event similar to Standing Rock. Now this opportunity, like the pipeline, is on hold – at least for the moment. In a statement, TransCanada said it remained committed to building Keystone XL. For NPR News, I'm Nate Heygi in Missoula, in Mt. Transcription provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.