Unclear why Cramer would issue statement, as Environmental Impact Statement is still incomplete. Decision would be a huge setback for the Standing Rock Sioux and others who have opposed the pipeline route.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - North Dakota Congressman Kevin Cramer said on YouTube Tuesday that the Army Corps of Engineers will be granting the easement for the Dakota Access Pipeline to cross beneath Lake Oahe.

This approval would be needed to complete construction of the project, and follows President Trump’s Jan. 24 memorandum to the Secretary of the Army, directing that all federal agency reviews and approvals be expedited to complete the remaining portions of the pipeline.

It is unclear why Cramer would issue this statement at this time. According to the FEDERAL REGISTER, the Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement in Connection With Dakota Access, LLC's Request for an Easement To Cross Lake Oahe, by the Army Department on 01/18/2017, sets the North Dakota Army Core of Engineers' comment period for the Environmental Impact Statement as open until February 20, 2017. Are they are approving the Easement before they finish their own review?

Congressman Cramer's YouTube Statement is presented below:

President Trump's order on immigrants has sparked spontaneous and overwhelming demonstrations across the nation and world. Stand with us and be Americans. Add your name to our petition.

APPLETON, WI - Not since the Vietnam War has our country witnessed such a spontaneous and overwhelming demonstration against a president's actions.

And rightfully so.

President Trump's executive order is not who we are.

We are a nation of immigrants founded on the unwavering belief that all men are created equal and in God's image. And we are, as St. Matthew wrote, that "bright shining city on a hill" that embraces those escaping persecution and who seek a better life.

Consider just a few of those stopped at our airports: the family member of a US Army soldier, a translator for our armed forces, doctors, scientists, mothers, fathers...

Add your name to our petition and stand up to Donald Trump >>>

And President Trump's executive order will not make us safer.

In fact, it will do just the opposite.

It will feed into the lies ISIS uses to recruit terrorists, strain crucial relations with our allies and put our safety at risk both home and abroad.

While not one Wisconsin Republican has denounced Trump, I am proud of Senator Tammy Baldwin, Congressman Kind, Congresswoman Moore, Congressman Pocan and thousands of Wisconsinites all around our great state who have stood up against this un-American, and un-Wisconsin executive order.

Madison's Devil’s Advocates radio show adding station in the Milwaukee market, Scott Walker’s punitive plan to force parents with children to work a minimum of 80 hours a month to receive food stamps, and the latest Trump assaults on civil liberties.

STATEWIDE - In a major victory for Citizen Action's Radio-Active project, Mike Crute ( co-host of the Devil’s Advocates radio show) makes an exclusive announcement on the podcast that he is buying a major radio station in the Milwaukee market, broadcasting at 1510 AM. The new commercial talk radio station will feature independent and progressive voices engaging in fact-based discussions, including local hosts and national luminaries such as Thom Harthman, Stephanie Miller, and many others.

We also discuss Scott Walker’s punitive plan to force parents with children to work a minimum of 80 hours a month to receive food stamps and housing assistance, while the Walker economy continues to hemorrhage family supporting jobs. Also the panel discusses shocking new cost estimates for one of Walker's biggest corporate tax loopholes, his latest assault on worker rights, and new evidence that private school tax break passed by the GOP in the middle of the night is going primarily to wealthier Wisconsinites.

We also weigh in on the latest Trump assaults on civil liberties. We welcome Milwaukee County Supervisor Marina Dimitrijevic to talk about the County Board’s resolution this week opposing all forms of discrimination and pledging that Milwaukee County will remain a safe place for undocumented immigrants -- regardless of federal law.

LISTEN NOW - EPISODE #278

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/obama-memorial-day-s5.jpgAmerica is not the project of any one person. The single most powerful word in our democracy is the word 'We.' 'We the People.' 'We shall overcome.' Yes, we can. I'll be right there with you.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/obama-farewell-address-s5.jpgThe President stepped beyond the daily give and take of elections, policies, and the news cycle to rekindle our faith in the American democratic system of government. It was a call to all of us citizens to take up our burden of citizenship.

Path through water source and cultural sites stopped for now.

CANNON BALL, N.D. - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Sunday that it won't grant an easement for the Dakota Access oil pipeline in southern North Dakota.

The decision is a victory for the several thousand camped near the construction site, who've said for months that the four-state, $3.8 billion project would threaten a water source and cultural sites.

The pipeline is largely complete except for the now-blocked segment underneath Lake Oahe, a Missouri River reservoir. According to a news release, Assistant Secretary for Civil Works Jo-Ellen Darcy said her decision was based on the need to "explore alternate routes" for the pipeline's crossing.

"Although we have had continuing discussion and exchanges of new information with the Standing Rock Sioux and Dakota Access, it's clear that there's more work to do," Darcy said. "The best way to complete that work responsibly and expeditiously is to explore alternate routes for the pipeline crossing."

The company constructing the pipeline, Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners, had said it was unwilling to reroute the project. It and the Morton County Sheriff's Office, which has done much of the policing of the protests, didn't have immediate comment.

U.S. Secretary for the Interior Sally Jewell said in a statement that the Corps' "thoughtful approach ... ensures that there will be an in-depth evaluation of alternative routes for the pipeline and a closer look at potential impacts" and "underscores that tribal rights reserved in treaties and federal law, as well as Nation-to-Nation consultation with tribal leaders, are essential components of the analysis to be undertaken in the environmental impact statement going forward."

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