BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The Latest on protests of the Dakota Access pipeline (all times local):
5 p.m.:
An attorney for an environmental group says he believes President Barack Obama’s administration will make a decision on the Dakota Access pipeline before the president leaves office.
Attorney Jan Hasselman with environmental group Earthjustice, who filed the lawsuit in July on behalf of the tribe, says he expects the decision before President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in Jan. 20.
The Army Corps of Engineers announced Monday that it finished a review of the disputed Dakota Access pipeline but says it wants more study and tribal input before it allows it to cross under the Missouri River in North Dakota.
The corps had given permission to pipeline developer Energy Transfer Partners permission, but in September it said more analysis was warranted in the wake of American Indian concerns.
4:15 p.m.
The Army Corps of Engineers has finished a review of the disputed Dakota Access pipeline but says it wants more study and tribal input before it allows it to cross under the Missouri River in North Dakota.
The corps had given permission to pipeline developer Energy Transfer Partners permission, but in September it said more analysis was warranted in the wake of American Indian concerns.
The Standing Rock Sioux says the $3.8 billion, four-state pipeline threatens its drinking water and cultural sites. ETP disputes that and says it’s preparing to bore under the river.
Army Assistant Secretary Jo-Ellen Darcy says in a letter to company officials and tribal Chairman Dave Archambault that “additional discussion with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and analysis are warranted.”
Darcy says the Army will work with the tribe on a timeline.
3 p.m.
A spokesman for a group supporting construction of an oil pipeline through the Midwest says the rule of law must be respected and the project should not retroactively be stopped.
The MAIN Coalition’s Craig Stevens says “it’s past time for the president to lift the hold on the Dakota Access Pipeline and issue the final, already approved easement.”
Groups opposing the $3.8 billion pipeline plan to hold more than 200 protest actions across the country Tuesday. They seek to draw the attention of President Barack Obama by rallying at U.S. Army Corps of Engineers offices, federal buildings and offices of banks that have helped finance the project.
They want Obama to permanently stop the project which is to run beneath a lake that provides drinking water to the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, which says the pipeline threatens drinking water and cultural sites.
The groups, including the Indigenous Environmental Network, Honor the Earth and Greenpeace USA.
12:30 p.m.
Groups protesting the construction of an oil pipeline through the Midwest are planning more than 200 protest actions across the country Tuesday seeking to draw the attention of President Barack Obama.
Rallies are to include events at U.S. Army Corps of Engineers offices in many states while other locations include federal buildings and offices of banks that have helped finance the project.
Protests are planned in every state but Rhode Island and Mississippi, but organizers say they’re working on getting events in every state.
The groups, including the Indigenous Environmental Network, Honor the Earth and Greenpeace USA want Obama to permanently halt the construction of the $3.8 billion Dakota Access pipeline, the focus of confrontations between police and protesters in North Dakota.
The pipeline is to run beneath a lake that provides drinking water to the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, which says the pipeline threatens drinking water and cultural sites.
The project also crosses South Dakota, Iowa and enters into Illinois.
12:20 p.m.
A United Nations group that represents indigenous people around the world says the U.S. government appears to be ignoring the treaty rights and human rights of American Indians opposing the $3.8 billion Dakota Access pipeline.
The statement is from the U.N. Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. It came after forum member Edward John spent three days at a camp in North Dakota that’s drawn hundreds of protesters against the 1,200-mile pipeline to carry North Dakota oil to Illinois.
Nearly 470 protesters have been arrested supporting the Standing Rock Sioux, which believes the pipeline threatens drinking water and cultural sites.
John says he met with both protesters and law officers. He says he found a “war zone” atmosphere.
President Barack Obama said earlier this month his administration is monitoring the situation.
12:05 p.m.
The North Dakota Highway Patrol says a large group of Dakota Access protesters has caused the state Capitol in Bismarck to be locked down.
Highway Patrol Lt. Tom Iverson says a “large number of protesters” had gathered outside the building Monday morning. He says the Capitol was locked to avoid them gathering inside the building. The patrol is in charge of Capitol security.
Several troopers were patrolling the Capitol and the grounds.
Earlier this month, more than a dozen protesters were arrested in the judicial wing of the Capitol in Bismarck. Highway Patrol Lt. Tom Iverson said the protesters were sitting, chanting and singing and refused orders to leave. Three other people who refused orders to leave the governor’s residence on the Capitol grounds were also arrested
First Published: November 14, 2016, 5:00 a.m.
Updated: November 14, 2016, 10:59 p.m.
