Yeah that was a bit of a head scratcher to me as well- I consider myself to be quite "green" in my political views, and I could not really grasp why this was picked up as an issue to champion for environmental rights- and why it even became such a political football. Pipelines are far superior in just about every way, and cheaper to boot- there isn't even a cost component like there is against the argument for nuclear (another head scratching issue to me).

It's one thing to make a case that this is infringing on their property rights, and that may have been a true and valid concern, but for it to get coopted as an environmental cause, was just strange and made environmental advocacy as a whole look bad IMHO.

The protest for Dakota isn't about the pipeline, it's about where the pipeline goes. Would you be okay with a pipeline going through your house?

Also pipelines are usually taking the human element out. When an oil train derails, you know about it. When there's a hole in a pipeline, it can take days for anyone to notice.

The route of the Dakota pipeline was along the exact path of an existing pipeline.

The real reason for the protests was that the tribe was NOT paid off because the pipeline CIRCUMVENTED their reserve.

Energy Transfer Partners (aka Sunoco) are pulling similar crap in Pennsylvania. Through or under dense housing, shopping malls, tearing up little league fields, occupying rights-of-way for years on end with drilling machines. They've already ruined many aquifers, poisoned a drinking reservoir, caused sink holes, even damaged their own nearby pipelines. All this before the thing gets pressurized with propane, ethane and butane. They subvert legislatures using public utility classification, eminent domain anything they want, and then bully anyone observing. Then they play the national security card for anyone asking about a disaster plan or blast radius.

There must be enormous profit here for such enormous public harm.

Marsh Creek lake: https://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2020/08/11/mariner-...

Backfires? https://whyy.org/articles/sunoco-says-mariner-east-2-system-...

Criminal investigation: https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/politics/chester-county...

Secrecy protection: https://www.spotlightpa.org/news/2020/12/mariner-east-pipeli...

It can take longer than just days, most leaks happen for months or more before it builds up enough to get a bunch of citizen complaints and cops go out to investigate. 70% of pipeline leaks are found by cops or civilians, and that is despite most pipelines going through the least dense possible areas without many people around.