Judge Grants Partial Stop On North Dakota Pipeline Work

A Native American tribal chairman said his people were “disappointed” that a company agreed on Tuesday to temporarily halt construction of an oil pipeline only in some but not all parts of North Dakota where the tribe says it has sacred sites.U.S. District Judge James Boasberg said Tuesday that work will temporarily stop between North Dakota’s State Highway 1806 and 32 kilometres east of Lake Oahe, but that work will continue west of the highway because he believes the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers lacks jurisdiction on private land.

U.S. District Judge James Boasberg said Tuesday that work will temporarily stop between North Dakota’s State Highway 1806 and 32 kilometres east of Lake Oahe, but that work will continue west of the highway because he believes the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers lacks jurisdiction on private land.After violent clashes over the weekend between protesters and security officers near the construction site, the Standing Rock Sioux tribe and a neighboring Native American tribe had asked the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Sunday for a temporary restraining order against Dakota Access, the company building the pipeline.

After violent clashes over the weekend between protesters and security officers near the construction site, the Standing Rock Sioux tribe and a neighboring Native American tribe had asked the U.S. District Court for a temporary restraining order against Dakota Access, the company building the pipeline.It was the second work stoppage request in front of Boasberg. He has said he’ll rule on the tribe’s broader push that challenges federal regulators’ decision to grant permits to the Texas-based operators of the Dakota Access pipeline by Friday.

It was the second work stoppage request in front of Boasberg. He has said he’ll rule on the tribe’s broader push that challenges federal regulators’ decision to grant permits to the Texas-based operators of the Dakota Access pipeline by Friday.

A group of firms led by Energy Transfer Partners (ETP.N) is building the 1,100-mile (1,770-km) pipeline. The $3.7 billion project would be the first to bring crude oil from Bakken shale, a vast oil formation in North Dakota, directly to refineries in the U.S. Gulf Coast.Dakota Access attorney Bill Leone said during Tuesday’s hearing that there were two more attacks on crews

Dakota Access attorney Bill Leone said during Tuesday’s hearing that there were two more attacks on crews and that if it weren’t for the stoppages, the section in question would be finished by the end of this week. A spokeswoman for the Morton County Sheriff’s Office didn’t immediately respond to a telephone message requesting comment.”We’re disappointed that some of the important sacred sites that we had found and provided evidence for will not be protected,” said attorney Jan Hasselman with Earthjustice, who filed the broader lawsuit on behalf of the tribe.

A spokeswoman for the Morton County Sheriff’s Office didn’t immediately respond to a telephone message requesting comment.

“We’re disappointed that some of the important sacred sites that we had found and provided evidence for will not be protected,” said attorney Jan Hasselman with Earthjustice, who filed the broader lawsuit on behalf of the tribe.
“We’re grateful that there was an agreement at least in the area immediately next to Lake Oahe, and we’ll know more by the end of the week about where we’re heading.”The tribe’s outstanding lawsuit attempts to halt construction of the pipeline, which crosses North Dakota, South Dakota,

The tribe’s outstanding lawsuit attempts to halt construction of the pipeline, which crosses North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, and Illinois and is due to be finished this year. The suit says the project violates several federal laws, including the National Historic Preservation Act and will harm water supplies on the reservation and disturb ancient sacred sites. Hundreds of protesters have camped out near the reservation for weeks.

Calgary-based Enbridge is spending $1.5 billion to be a part of the project.