To the Editor:
When I went to church this frigid Sunday I thanked God for the pipelines that bring us the gas safely and efficiently to heat our church and the oil to power our cars. I read your article and it did provide a lot of good information on both sides of the issue. But what caught my eye (got me off the couch) was, as you reported, that the opponents of the pipe line “believed” while the proponents touted. Hmm … So I thought I would tout a bit of information gleaned from a Dec. 7, 2016, Wall Street Journal article “What the Dakota pipeline is Really About.” Now, from the WSJ source I will try to summarize some points. The project is on private and government land, the Sioux tribe’s water intake is 70 miles downstream. The pipeline will be approximately 100 feet below the water bed and automatic shut-off valves will be located on either side of the river. It will run adjacent to an existing gas pipeline and will be in “a brownfield area that was disturbed long ago by previous infrastructure.” Now, finally: Father (Bud) Grant, we love you but could we agree many marginalized communities are living better lives because of projects like this? I know, let’s turn off our furnaces today or maybe for a half-day and see how that works!
Mel Schefers
Oskaloosa