He said “the Tribe has not shown it will suffer injury that would be prevented by any injunction the Court could issue”. They have been camped out at the site for months, and they call themselves “water protectors”, not protesters.
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A judge on Friday denied the Standing Rock Sioux tribe’s attempt to halt the construction of the Dakota Access oil pipeline near its North Dakota reservation, but three federal agencies asked the pipeline company to “voluntarily pause” work on a segment that tribal officials say holds sacred sites and artifacts.
The plaintiffs claim the tribe was not properly consulted before the US Army Corps of Engineers approved the pipeline project, which would run from North Dakota to South Dakota, Iowa and IL.
The decision comes after weeks of protests at the site of the proposed pipeline just a half mile from the Standing Rock reservation, which straddles the North and South Dakota border. Pipeline supporters also say it would cut the amount of oil that travels by train.
They’re awaiting a critical ruling from a federal judge on the Standing Rock Sioux tribe’s request to block the $3.8 billion pipeline over environmental concerns.
People have come from as far as NY and Alaska, as well as Canada. She said Friday that it’s an historic coming together of tribes – probably the largest such gathering of Native Americans in a century.
Kate Silvertooth made the daylong drive from Colorado on Thursday, spending hundreds of dollars on supplies such as tarps and food.
The pipeline, being built by a Texas-based company, is to carry oil from western North Dakota to IL.
The sheriff’s department also said two guard dogs were injured. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is also a defendant. Lynch’s office did not immediately comment on the request. Stein and running mate Ajamu Baraka were charged Wednesday with misdemeanor counts of criminal trespass and criminal mischief, and authorities issued arrest warrants.
The 1,172-mile project will carry almost a half-million barrels of crude oil daily from North Dakota’s oil fields through South Dakota and Iowa to an existing pipeline in Patoka, Illinois.
Members of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe see the pipeline as an environmental and cultural threat to their homeland.
But moments after the ruling, the USA government urged construction to stop temporarily at one particular site.
The tribe’s fears of a spill seemed to gain further credence last month when the Bismarck Tribune reported that the pipeline’s original proposed route over the river north of Bismark was rejected over fears that a potential spill could threaten that city’s water supply.
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Over the weekend, prior to the temporary halt, a clash between tribal members, other protesters and security guards resulted in an altercation with security dogs biting people.
