The Corps also asked Dakota Access to voluntarily cease construction 20 miles east and west.
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The pipeline’s developer, Energy Transfer Partners, has argued that the project is safe. The company declined comment Friday.
On Thursday, North Dakotas archaeologist said that piece of private land was not previously surveyed by the state would be surveyed next week and that if artifacts are found, pipeline work still could cease.
The competing decisions may calm emotions at the proposed pipeline site.
In advance of that decision, Governor Jack Dalrymple ordered National Guard troops to the area from bases in Bismarck and two other cities.
U.S. government officials are now reportedly promising to temporarily halt construction of the pipeline on federally owned land, which makes up a significant chunk of the land on which the pipeline would be built. Proponents say the project could be an economic boon for the region and potentially change the landscape of the USA crude oil supply.
The administration said construction would halt until it can do more environmental assessments. Thousands have gathered there since April to protest the pipeline construction on the banks of the Missouri River.
On Friday, minutes after a judge rejected efforts by the Standing Rock Sioux to halt construction, the federal government intervened, temporarily blocking construction on part of the pipeline.
The court “concludes that the Corps has likely complied with the [National Historic Preservation Act] and that the Tribe has not shown it will suffer injury that would be prevented by any injunction the Court could issue”, the judge’s opinion reads.
But the tribe received good news a brief time later.
The tribe believes the new pipeline threatens sacred Sioux lands and the water supply for residents in the state.
The Obama administration said it would not authorize construction on a critical stretch of the Dakota Access pipeline, handing a significant victory to the Indian tribe fighting the project the same day the group lost a court battle.
“The Justice Department, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Department of the Interior are right”, Sanders said in a statement.
“The fact that several other tribes did participate in consultation early on is an indication that the Corps did its job”, Cramer said.
The tribe says that the project has already disturbed ancestral land and sacred burial sites in North Dakota.
The Army Corps has permitted pipeline construction near Lake Oahe.
Protesters are also anxious that digging the pipeline under the Missouri River could affect the drinking water supply if the pipeline breaks.
Protestors from all over the country have arrived in Cannon Ball and have chained themselves to heavy equipment and blocked access to the job site.
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A protest at North Dakota state capitol against the Dakota Access Pipeline on September 7, 2016. “The security officers were hit and jabbed with fence posts and flagpoles”. Company guards employed dogs and pepper spray against protesters who fought back with sticks and poles.
