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Large protests are expected Tuesday in opposition to an executive order signed by President Donald Trump which advanced the Dakota Access and Keystone XL oil pipelines.

Dakota Access demonstrators, including both indigenous members and non-indigenous protesters, have been interned along the access point for months in an effort to thwart advances in the name of land security and access to clean water.

KFYR reports members of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe released a lengthy statement where they vowed to take legal action. Tribal members also called the president to the carpet, calling his action a “politically motivated decision.”

“We are not opposed to energy independence. We are opposed to reckless and politically motivated development projects, like DAPL, that ignore our treaty rights and risk our water. Creating a second Flint does not make America great again,” the last line of the statement reads.

Several environmentalists groups will stage large-scale protests on Tuesday in New York and D.C. on the heels of Trump’s decision.

350.org, a grassroots climate movement group along with other environmentalists announced plans to demonstrate outside the White House beginning at 5 p.m. ET.

New York City activists banded together to plan a simultaneous demonstration which will take place outside of Trump Tower at 6 p.m. ET.

The pipeline projects have also been a source of contention amongst congressional leaders. Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.), an outspokenly fierce opponent of the pipeline’s progression, vowed to combat the pipeline advancement.

Sen. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) also released a statement:

“The American people decisively rejected both the Dakota Access Pipeline and the Keystone Pipeline. President Trump’s executive orders are a giveaway to the fossil fuel industry at the expense of our planet and its inhabitants.

At every turn, President Trump has shown his allegiance is with billionaires and Big Oil, not working families. We must resist this dangerous agenda and fight for the future of our planet.”

On Tuesday in the Oval Office, Trump vowed the Keystone XL pipeline’s advancement would create over 28,000 jobs. The proposed project spans over 1,179-miles from Alberta to Nebraska. In November the Obama administration decided not to move forward due to environmental concerns, USA Today reports.

Late last year the Obama administration rejected a permit for the Dakota Access project, which spanned 1,172-miles from North Dakota to Illinois, according to NBC News.

 SOURCE: KFYR, USA TodayNBC News

SEE ALSO:

Protesters Celebrate Army Corps Decision To Explore Alternate Route For Controversial Pipeline

Masked White Men Terrorize Native Americans In North Dakota Amid Rising Hate Crimes

Protests Planned In Opposition Of Trump’s Executive Order To Advance Controversial Pipelines  was originally published on newsone.com