Activists Desiree Fairooz and Lenny Bianchi were among the demonstrators outside the court, where a federal judge was set to consider the Standing Rock Sioux tribe’s request for an injunction that would effectively block the pipeline’s construction.
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Earlier Wednesday, the Iowa board told Dakota Access that it must to provide detailed information about the construction progress in the state, as well as more information about costs the company will incur if it’s required to work around the landowner’s parcels.
On Wednesday, District Court Judge James Boasberg held a hearing on the tribe’s motion for a preliminary injunction, and said he would announce his decision by September 9. If finished, it would stretch 1,168 miles from North Dakota to IL, through South Dakota and Iowa.
They use the river for drinking water and want to defend it from the possibility of pollution.
The roughly halfway-finished pipeline is the subject of a federal court challenge from the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, and numerous protests. “We continually seek ways to enhance our operations in the areas of environmental and resource protection and conservation”, the company says. Dozens, including Archambault, were arrested last week during demonstrations at the construction site near the Standing Rock Indian Reservation in North Dakota.
Attorneys for Dakota Access said landowners have missed their legal opportunity to halt the project and should no longer be allowed to stand in its way.
Standing Rock members say the pipeline’s route under the Missouri River could threaten its water supplies if the pipeline leaks or breaks.
The Dakota Pipeline is an issue that affects farmers in the region.
Chairwoman Geri Huser says the board concluded landowners have little likelihood of success in their court case and that Dakota Access would be financially harmed by construction delays.
Indeed, many marchers were from the campsite, including 25-year-old Kin-sin-ta Joseph and her 16-year-old sister Kis-dya:n-te’ Joseph, who got help from a portable PA system so their river song would carry over the wind and traffic noise. The line has a maximum capacity of 570,000 barrels per day and runs from North Dakota to patoka, Illinois. Also the national president of Sigma Nu Alpha Gamma, a Native American fraternity, Still said collecting the donations was a coordinated statewide effort.
Dallas-based operator Energy Transfer Partners didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press regarding when construction could restart.
Thousands of people representing about 300 Indigenous nations as well as many non-Native people have gathered in solidarity near Standing Rock, and vow to stay there until the pipeline project is cancelled.
“This is our homeland”, said Phyllis Young, a member of the Standing Rock Sioux.
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Authorities and state officials also counter that while the majority of protesters are peaceful, there has been unlawful activity, with Gov. Jack Dalrymple and the Morton County Sheriff’s Department both citing numerous criminal acts including trespassing on private property, blocking the highway, damaging construction equipment and threatening officers and contractors.
