Donald Trump

Pipeline March, Rally Held Outside Federal Building in Westwood

The response comes the same day that President Donald Trump moved swiftly to advance the controversial Keystone XL and Dakota Access oil pipelines.

A march and rally against the controversial Keystone XL and Dakota Access oil pipelines took place Tuesday evening outside the Wilshire Federal Building in Westwood.

Participating groups include the American Indian Movement SoCal, Idle No More, International Action Center and Union del Barrio. 

Dozens could be heard chanting: "When our water supply is under attack, what do we do? Stand up. Fight back!" 

The response comes the same day that President Donald Trump moved swiftly to advance the oil pipelines, signing executive actions to aggressively overhaul America's energy policy and deal a sharp blow to Barack Obama's legacy on climate change.

Obama had personally halted the Keystone XL project, which was to bring oil from Canada to the U.S., and major protest demonstrations have frozen work on the Dakota pipeline.

"From now on we are going to start making pipelines in the United States," Trump said from the Oval Office, where he also vowed to require the actual pipe for Keystone to be manufactured in America.

The 1,179-mile Keystone XL pipeline would run from Canada to Nebraska, where it would join other lines already leading to refineries along the Gulf Coast.

The 1,200-mile Dakota Access pipeline would carry North Dakota oil through South Dakota and Iowa to an existing pipeline in Illinois. The proposed route skirts the Standing Rock Sioux tribe's reservation and crosses under Lake Oahe, a Missouri River reservoir in North Dakota that serves as the tribe's drinking water source.

Trump directed the State Department and other agencies to make a decision within 60 days of a final application and declared that a 2014 State Department environmental study satisfies required reviews under environmental and endangered species laws. Environmental groups promised a legal challenge, arguing a new application requires a new review.

State Department approval is needed because the pipeline would cross the northern U.S border.

The Facebook event description for the West LA march and rally says that Trump's actions "will risk fresh water for millions of people and a breakdown in the separation of his business and domestic policy."

An organizer for the event stated that the event will be a "peaceful demonstration."

Environmental groups and Native American organizations were also planning to rally outside the Federal Building in downtown San Diego. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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