The city of Seattle, Washington has sided with protesters of the Dakota Access Pipeline, voting this week to cut financial ties with Wells Fargo Bank which is a lender to the controversial $3.8 billion project.
The vote prompted the crowd in the city hall to break into cheers with chants of “water is life”. It was a unanimous vote on an order that directs city officials to end the city contract with the San Francisco-based bank once it expires in 2018. They will not be allowed to make any 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 Council member Kshama Sawant, who co-sponsored the legislation.
“You have been a city setting the example to the world and I look to you to do that now,” Olivia One Feather, a member of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, told the council. “When big cities such as this do the right thing, it sparks hope in the world.”
Wells Fargo is one of 17 banks and institutions involved in financing the project by Energy Transfer Partners based in Dallas, Texas. It also manages more than $3 billion in Seattle’s operating account. The bank handles payroll and vendor payments as well as revenues collected from local taxes and city fines.