Dear Future President,

I write to you today about the D.A.P.L (Dakota Access Pipeline). The protesters in Standing Rock, ND are supposed to be doing a peaceful protest, but yet they attacked security guards. The protesters are doing this because they don’t want the river to get polluted with oil. I read an article saying that the Missouri River is their only water source. The entire state of North Dakota and to where the pipeline goes to is being affected by this because protesters are slowing down the pipeline. This pipeline will transport 470,000 barrels of oil a day and this pipeline will open 8,000 to 12,000 local jobs.

This pipeline will stop the risk of trains and trucks crashing and spilling the oil all over, causing the grass and crops to die. They can also crash in the water and also into families, unfortunately killing them . The pipeline was supposed to be finished at the end of 2016, but now that the protesters are slowing down construction, the pipeline might be finished later on.

Residents that live close to the protest feel like it’s not safe to go home. A local town, volleyball team were scheduled  to go to Standing rock for a game, but it was postponed because they didn’t feel safe going to Standing Rock.

Our economy would be better with this pipeline being finished. The protesters are saying that the pipeline is on the reservation or on burial sites, but is hasn’t been proven. One last thing, the protests are camping on corp land and they don’t even have permits to camp there. Please Mr. / Mrs. President, stop them from destroying the plan that could help our future.

Sincerely,

An American Kid,

UPDATE: Since the writing of this letter, they now have permits to camp on corp land.