Seattle to cut ties with Wells Fargo over oil pipeline
Source: Associated Press
Seattle to cut ties with Wells Fargo over oil pipeline
Phuong Le, Associated Press Updated 6:58 pm, Tuesday, February 7, 2017
SEATTLE (AP) The Seattle City Council on Tuesday voted to cut ties with banking giant Wells Fargo over its role as a lender to the Dakota Access pipeline project as well as other business practices.
The crowd erupted in cheers and chanted "water is life" when the council unanimously passed the measure, which directs officials to end the city's contract with the San Francisco-based bank once it expires in 2018 and not to make new investments in Wells Fargo securities for three years.
"The example that we have set today can become a beacon of hope" for activists across the country, said Councilmember Kshama Sawant, who co-sponsored the legislation.
Seattle's measure comes on the same day that the Army told Congress that it will allow the $3.8 billion Dakota Access oil pipeline to cross under a Missouri River reservoir in North Dakota, completing the disputed four-state project. The stretch is the final big chunk of work on the 1,200-mile pipeline that would carry North Dakota oil through the Dakotas and Iowa to a shipping point in Illinois.
Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/us/article/Seattle-to-cut-ties-with-Wells-Fargo-over-oil-10915722.php