Donald Trump supports completion of Dakota Access Pipeline

Fireworks fill the night sky above Oceti Sakowin Camp as activists celebrate after learning an easement had been denied for the Dakota Access Pipeline near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. Pic/AFP

WASHINGTON: US President-elect Donald Trump has said for the first time that he supports the completion of a pipeline project near a North Dakota Indian reservation, which has been the subject of months of protests by tribes and environmentalists. A briefing from Trump's transition team said despite media reports that Trump owns a stake in Energy Transfer Partners, the company building the pipeline, his support of the pipeline "has nothing to do with his personal investments and everything to do with promoting policies that benefit all Americans."

"Those making such a claim are only attempting to distract from the fact that President-elect Trump has put forth serious policy proposals he plans to set in motion on Day One," said the daily briefing note sent to campaign supporters and congressional staff.

Activists have spent months protesting plans to route the $3.8 billion Dakota Access Pipeline beneath a lake near the Standing Rock Sioux reservation, saying the project poses a threat to water resources and Native American sites. On Thursday, US military veterans were arriving at a camp to join activists braving snow and freezing temperatures to protest the pipeline. Republican North Dakota Senator John Hoeven said he met with Trump's transition team. "He expressed his support for the pipeline, which has met or exceeded all environmental standards set forth by four states and the Army Corps of Engineers."