A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order Tuesday to protesters interfering with Dakota Access Pipeline construction as pipeline opponents continued to grow in numbers.
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“All I’ve asked for is peace and prayer”, he said.
“In all of these meetings, my message has been consistent-we need to work together in peace”, he said.
“We’re ready for 5,000 campers”, said Joye Braun, a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and an organizer with the Indigenous Environmental Network.
Dakota Access LLC filed a lawsuit against Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Chairman David Archambault II and other protesters, seeking a restraining orders and unspecified monetary damages.
Protesters attempting to block the Dakota Access Pipeline have challenged local law enforcement and private security with tribal flags, cell phones and drums.
Vicki Granado, a spokeswoman for Bakken pipeline developer Dakota Access, said the suit was filed in the interest of safety.
The tribe filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers last month over the permits issued for the project.
Paul Picha (PEEK’-ah) says authorities were notified on Friday by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and others that human remains might have been unearthed near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in southern North Dakota. According to the Gazette, the denial of the Keystone XL pipeline may have affected how the company building the Dakota Access pipeline executed its strategy; having the pipeline route avoid federal lands. “In accordance with the permits and approvals obtained for the Pipeline project, Dakota Access has commenced construction activities in North Dakota”. The pipeline would start in North Dakota and pass through South Dakota and Iowa before ending in IL. The company said the pipeline would include safeguards such as leak detection equipment; workers monitoring the pipeline remotely in Texas could close valves within three minutes if a breach is detected.
“We are disappointed that there are those who will put the lives of others in jeopardy”, said an ETP spokesperson.
“The tribes collectively are doing the best they can to stand against something that would be potentially harmful to the kids and grand kids and to the people in the long run”, says Dr. Richard Meyer’s South Dakota State University’s Tribal Relations Director.
A spokesperson for the pipeline said it’s an important energy infrastructure project that benefits Americans and the economy.
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The 1,172-mile, 30-inch diameter underground pipeline will originate in western North Dakota, cut across South Dakota and 18 counties in Iowa before ending at in Patoka, Ill.
