Energy Transfer Parters, the operator of the controversial Dakota Access oil pipeline, announced Tuesday that it will begin the final phase of the project within two weeks, defying a request by federal agencies to delay the project pending a possible reroute. The company has completed all construction up to a section of the Missouri River, which provides water to the Standing Rock Sioux tribe. The company said it will escalate that war by drilling at the site soon, despite requests to halt construction by President Obama. “I’m in shock. I’m speechless,” said Cheryl Angel, a Sicangu Lakota tribe member. “It’s unconscionable and devastating. It’s almost as though they have no soul.”
