In 2014 Energy Transfer Partners announced a plan to carry 570,000 barrels of crude oil per day from the Bakken oil fields in North Dakota to an existing infrastructure in Illinois. The Dakota Access Pipeline, as it has been named, would snake across 1,172 miles to reach its destination while crossing through many states, a Native American Reservation, and come in contact with multiple waterways.

Environmentalist and Native Americans have spoken out in non-support of this oil pipeline project for reasons that relate to the dangers that would impact the environment and lives of people living in the region if this line were to break or leak. Many fear that the part of the pipeline that would be constructed under the Missouri River presents a clear and present danger to the river if a leak occurs and jeopardizes the water and the life that depends on this water supply.

Your task: Look at the concerns of the environmentalists and people who raise concerns about the 570,000 barrels of crude oil that would flow through the region. Additionally, look at the history of pipeline oil spills in the United States and any issues surrounding environmental impacts that would be important. Then weigh the concerns of the people involved against the interest of big oil companies.

You must take a stand for one side or the other and defend your position with facts and the law.