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Davis City Council Passes Resolution Backing Standing Rock

by Dan Bacher
In an emailed report to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, Julia Beck of Davis Stands with Standing Rock, said, “We wanted to share the good news that our local city council last night unanimously passed the attached resolution in support of your critical and profoundly inspiring opposition to the Dakota Access pipeline.”

Photo: Francisco Dominguez urges the Davis City Council to adopt the resolution. Photo by Dan Bacher.
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On October 4, the Davis City Council unanimously passed a resolution declaring their solidarity with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s opposition to the Dakota Access Pipeline.

Carol Standing Elk, Francisco Dominguez, Juliette Beck, Lynn Nittler, Becca Paine and Nick Buxton led the successful campaign to work with the City Council to pass the resolution. Davis joins 18 other cities across the country, including Seattle, Saint Paul, Minneapolis, Berkeley, Santa Barbara, Oakland and Sitka, Alaska, in opposition to the pipeline.

The proposed Dakota Access Pipeline would carry as many as 570,000 barrels of fracked crude oil per day for more than 1,170 miles from the Bakken oil fields of North Dakota to Illinois. It would imperil sensitive landscapes including Treaty-protected land containing recognized cultural resources and across or under 209 rivers, creeks, and tributaries including the pristine Missouri River, the longest river in North America. The Missouri provides drinking water to many cities and towns and irrigates agricultural land across the Midwest.

The resolution declares: “WHEREAS, the City of Davis has worked diligently for many years to secure and protect our own sustainable clean water supply and supports the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in opposing the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline that passes under the Missouri River and other water water sources with the recognized threat of contamination of existing clean water supplies with potential future oil spills.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of Davis, stands in support of the opposition to the Dakota Access Pipeline process and project and calls on all residents of Davis to raise awareness about this important struggle for Indigenous sovereignty and environmental justice and to support the Sacred Stones Camp efforts.”

In an emailed report to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, Julia Beck of Davis Stands with Standing Rock, said, “We wanted to share the good news that our local city council last night unanimously passed the attached resolution in support of your critical and profoundly inspiring opposition to the Dakota Access pipeline.”

“The local news coverage captured the strong sense of solidarity that was expressed in our city council chambers by Native Americans, University of California at Davis students, climate change activists, parents, librarians, and the city council members themselves. We are very grateful for your leadership and all that you are doing to protect Mother Earth,” Beck stated.

For local news coverage, go to: http://www.davisvanguard.org/2016/10/council-defends-local-resolution-dakota-pipeline/ and http://www.davisenterprise.com/local-news/davis-joins-opposition-to-dakota-access-pipeline/

During the meeting, Mayor Rob Davis tried to postpone the decision, based on a complaint by one person supporting the DAPL, but he reversed his decision after intense opposition by Native Americans and their allies who spoke at the meeting.

“All the air that we breathe tonight, this air is going to blow somewhere else,” said Francisco Dominguez (Tarahumara), photo journalist. “All the air, rivers, lakes, oceans — it’s all connected. What we do here has an effect on other continents.

“There are human rights violations over in North Dakota,” he emphasized. “We haven’t seen dogs sicced upon our citizens since the Martin Luther King marches in 1964 and 1965.”

Since the passage of the resolution, the arrests and brutality by law enforcement against indigenous leaders and independent journalists have only accelerated. While a judge on October 17 dismissed a felony "riot" charge against Amy Goodman of Democracy Now for her reporting on the #noDAPL protests, Josh Fox Film’s producer, Deia Schlosberg, and Unicorn Riot journalists continue to face time in prison for the “crime” of journalism. (http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/18/us/judge-rejects-riot-charge-against-amy-goodman-of-democracy-now-over-pipeline-protest.htm)

You can sign the petition to protect Freedom of The Press and demand that all charges be dropped against journalists for covering ND Pipeline Protests by going to: https://t.co/3vU8Ibr2VW

"Green" California Is third largest oil producing-state in Nation

The passage of the resolution by City of Davis takes place in a state that is the third largest oil producer in the nation, right behind North Dakota (second) and Texas (first) – and where the regulatory apparatus has been captured by Big Oil, Big Ag and other corporate interests. In fact, Big Oil is the largest and most powerful corporate lobby in California and the Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA) is the largest and most powerful corporate lobbying organization.

In a classic example of deep regulatory capture, Catherine Reheis-Boyd, the President of the Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA), chaired the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative to create questionable "marine protected areas" in Southern California from 2009 to 2012. She also served on the task forces to create "marine protected areas" on the Central Coast, North Central Coast and North Coast from 2004 to 2012. (http://www.dfg.ca.gov/mlpa/brtf_bios_sc.asp)

While she was overseeing the creation of "marine protected areas" that fail to protect the ocean from fracking, offshore oil drilling, oil spills, pollution, military testing and other human impacts other than sustainable fishing and gathering, her husband, James Boyd, served as vice-chair of the California Energy Commission from February 2007 to January 2012 after serving as a commission member from February 2002 to January 2007. (http://www.energy.ca.gov/commissioners/boyd.html)

With complete disrespect to the water rights and sacred sites of the Winnemem Wintu, Concow Maidu, Pit River Tribe and other Tribal Nations, Governor Jerry Brown is currently fast-tracking the Delta Tunnels, the most environmentally destructive public works project in California history, as well as promoting the expansion of fracking.

Like DAPL, Jerry Brown's Delta Tunnels threaten ecosystem disaster

Just as the DAPL will devastate the Missouri River ecosystem and its many fish and wildlife species, the two 35-mile long tunnels under the Delta would hasten the extinction of Central Valley steelhead, Sacramento River winter-run Chinook salmon, Delta and longfin smelt, green sturgeon and other fish species.

The project would also imperil the salmon and steelhead populations on the Trinity and Klamath rivers, a fishery that for thousands of years has played an integral part in the culture, religion and food supply of the Yurok, Karuk and Hoopa Valley Tribes.

In the latest environmental scandal to rock the Brown administration, the California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) announced on September 23 that it has opened an investigation into the California Democratic Party in response to a report by a prominent consumer group claiming that the party acted as a “laundry machine” to funnel donations from oil, energy and utility companies to Brown’s 2014 election campaign.

In her letter to the Santa Monica-based Consumer Watchdog, Galena West, Chief of the FPPC’s Enforcement Division, said the division “will investigate the California Democratic Party for alleged violations of the Political Reform Act’s campaign reporting provisions resulting from information contained in your sworn complaint (Brown’s Dirty Hands Report.)”

Consumer Watchdog’s Brown’s Dirty Hands report tabulated donations totaling $9.8 million dollars to Jerry Brown’s campaigns, causes, and initiatives, and to the California Democratic Party since he ran for Governor from 26 energy companies with business before the state. The companies included the state’s three major investor-owned utilities, as well as Occidental, Chevron, and NRG. (http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/9/24/1573828/-FPPC-launches-probe-in-response-to-Consumer-Watchdog-s-Brown-s-Dirty-Hands-report)

While the mainstream media and state officials portray Jerry Brown as a “green governor” and “climate” leader, he is in reality one of the worst governors for fish, water and the environment in recent California history, as I have documented in article after article.

Below is the complete text of the resolution:

RESOLUTION 16-XXX, SERIES 2016

Resolution

Supporting the Opposition to the Dakota Access Pipeline Process and Project

WHEREAS, the proposed Dakota Access Pipeline would carry as many as 570,000 barrels of hydraulically-fractured (“fracked”) crude oil per day for more than 1,170 miles from the Bakken oil fields of North Dakota to Illinois, passing over sensitive landscapes including Treaty-protected land containing recognized cultural resources and across or under 209 rivers, creeks, and tributaries including the pristine Missouri River, which provides drinking water and irrigates agricultural land in communities across the Midwest; and

WHEREAS, despite deep opposition from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, as well as farmers, scientists, more than 30 environmental advocacy groups, and other Tribal nations along the proposed route, and without Tribal consultation or meaningful environmental review as required by federal law, in July, 2016, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued a permit allowing construction of the fracked oil pipeline to move forward; and

WHEREAS, in a complaint filed in Federal District Court on July 27, 2016, the Standing Rock

Sioux Tribe alleges, among other allegations, serious violations of the due process requirements of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). In particular, federal agencies “must complete the section 106 process prior to the approval of the expenditure of any Federal funds on the undertaking or prior to the issuance of any license.” According to the complaint, The US Army Corp of Engineers did not follow or complete the proper process of consultation with the Tribe prior to issuance of permits;” and

WHEREAS, on August 31, 2016, the chair and members of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues issued a statement finding that “The [Dakota Access Pipeline] project was proposed and planned without any consultation with the Standing Rock Sioux or others that will be affected by this major project. The lack of consultation with the Indigenous peoples concerned triggered the filing of the lawsuit against the Army Corps of Engineers, who approved its construction. The pipeline would adversely affect not only the security and access to drinking water of the Sioux and millions of people living downstream of the Missouri River, but it would also destroy archaeological, historical and sacred sites of the Sioux”; and

WHEREAS, on August 15, 2016 the Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Council, led by Tribal Chairman David Archambault II, called on Tribal nations, Indigenous people and organizations around the world to issue resolutions in support of the Standing Rock Sioux and the Sacred Stones Camp; and

WHEREAS, the City of Davis has made a firm commitment to reduce its own dependence on fossil fuels and aims for carbon neutrality by 2050, in order to ensure that additional pipelines such as the Dakota Access Pipeline are not needed; and.

WHEREAS, the City of Davis previously passed a Resolution 14-052, Opposing Transportation of Crude Oil through the City of Davis and Adjacent Habitat Areas, citing the many known public safety concerns of the transport of crude by rail; and

WHEREAS, the City of Davis has worked diligently for many years to secure and protect our own sustainable clean water supply and supports the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in opposing the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline that passes under the Missouri River and other water water sources with the recognized threat of contamination of existing clean water supplies with potential future oil spills.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of Davis, stands in support of the opposition to the Dakota Access Pipeline process and project and calls on all residents of Davis to raise awareness about this important struggle for Indigenous sovereignty and environmental justice and to support the Sacred Stones Camp efforts.

PASSED AND ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of Davis this 4th day of October, 2016 by the following vote:

Robb Davis, Mayor

Zoe S. Mirabile, CMC, City Clerk
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