“Young man, let me remind you that this is a court of law and not a court of justice.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. 1928
Deciding what is legal is difficult when the decision-making process is broken. Diamond has not been approved. No one has challenged Diamond.
What is the Diamond legal challenge?
From a legal perspective, the Diamond project is a mess. The line starts in Oklahoma, splits Arkansas in half, and the last pipe ends in Memphis. The 1940’s Valero Refinery is not idle, the Valero 12 kept gasoline trucks from making deliveries until reinforcements came to arrest our Water Guardians. The Diamond Legal Challenge will deal only with the pipeline within Arkansas, in an Arkansas court, with an expert legal team. I must wait for a court filing before disclosing the plans. Diamond is going down and it is not going to be easy or pretty.
Has anyone opposed Diamond in court?
Several landowners tried to get a fair settlement for the taking of their land before signing permanent easements. Diamond offered to settle, one at a time, making secret deals. Most landowners abused by aggressive land agents and forced to hire lawyers and sign non-disclosure agreements, choose to stay silent. Clarksville Light and Water tried to move the line away from their water intake to protect public water. Diamond said NO, and paid CL&W to move the water intake, with a non-disclosure agreement.
Why did Diamond start construction?
Diamond has billions of dollars to win and little to lose. Pretending to have the right to drill and weld pipes, Texas crews are working overtime to finish the line before we know it. Pretending is a powerful strategy.
How did Diamond get so far?
Diamond came to Arkansas in 2013 to grease the wheels, with a sketch of the route. They made minor adjustments pretending to care. Details of handshakes and secret deals are unknown. The rest was easy. Diamond said they were a pipeline company in good standing. Xavier Pena handled the incorporation as DP Pipeline, LCC. Diamond got landowners to sign easement agreements. Diamond said they would build a safe line. The Corps of Engineers had no environmental concerns, and gave Diamond a permit to tunnel underneath our rivers. The Arkansas Public Service Commission gave them a permit without review, public notice, or intervenors, pretending oil spills would not impact river navigation. Diamond has permits to tunnel four miles of the route, and no one has reviewed the structural design of the complete pipeline.
Why has the Diamond project gone unchallenged?
Superstition. People say “there is nothing I can do,” “this is Arkansas,” “Diamond has unlimited legal funds,” etc. These beliefs are not based on facts or logic. People have the ultimate power.
Uncertainty. No one knows when or where the pipeline is going to leak. We know it is going to happen, but secretly hope it will be far away.
Fear. Authorities choose to believe what Diamond says, and ignore available evidence and opposing comments, to avoid taking a stand.
Avoidance. Pretending all is good, is easy, but false.
Ignorance. Choosing to believe false promises of low-cost oil and other benefits.
Corruption. Diamond has deep pockets.
Why join the Diamond legal challenge?
The right thing to do, a matter of pride and integrity.
Trump wants more: Keystone XL, DAPL, and other pipelines.
Arkansans, near or far from the line, will pay for all damages: public health floods, lost crops, spills cleanup, water, etc.
High probability of success, low-cost, low-risk, community-based.
Remember Mayflower
Mayflower was devastated in 2013 and has not recovered. Hospitals and nearby clinics do not keep track of cancer patients or anyone ill from the spill. Schools and elected officials got paid to keep silent. ExxonMobil got a free pass. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce in 2016, opposed a $2.6 million fine saying, “Allowing the order to stand would make companies ‘think twice’ before investing in future pipelines and adversely affect the national economy.”
Diamond has not been approved. The legal challenge will protect Arkansans and stop Diamond.
Dr. Luis Contreras
NO, Diamond is not legal. To stop it, the Diamond Legal Challenge needs funds. David Druding took the online donations from many people, if you made a donation please ask for a refund at the following site: http://arwaterguardians.org
This was an unfortunate development. Our efforts are honest and sound, David Druding was not a member of the Arkansas Water Guardians.
We continue with a new funding plan. Thank you.
$3,000 in donations sent to http://www.arwaterguardians.org were taken by an authorized third party.
For a full refund, please see the information on the website, and use this link.
https://www.gofundme.com/mvc.php?route=contact/form&pid=2955_I_would_like_to_refund_my_donation
We have new funding plans to stop Diamond.
My apologies for this unfortunate situation.
It is never too late to do the right thing.
Why would we let Diamond transport 200,000 barrels of highly toxic chemicals per day, without trying to stop a known threat?