Judge to Vacate $28M DAPL Protest Judgment as Settlement Finalized
A federal judge has signaled he will clear the 2025 ruling as North Dakota and the U.S. government near a financial settlement over protest costs.
A federal judge has indicated he will vacate a nearly $28 million judgment against the U.S. government, clearing the way for North Dakota to finalize a settlement over costs incurred during the Dakota Access Pipeline protests. According to Bing News, U.S. District Judge Daniel Traynor signaled his intent during a hearing on Friday, May 8, 2026.
The pending settlement concludes a lawsuit filed by North Dakota in 2019. The state argued that the federal government allowed protesters to camp on federal land during the 2016 and 2017 demonstrations near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, forcing North Dakota to spend millions on law enforcement and cleanup. Judge Traynor had ruled in the state's favor in April 2025, ordering the federal government to pay $28 million.
Attorneys for both parties stated during the hearing that North Dakota is still expected to receive a payment from the federal government, though the exact settlement amount has not been disclosed. According to the North Dakota Monitor, reported by Bing News, the Department of Justice seeks to have Traynor's rulings vacated as part of the settlement. This legal maneuver would prevent the court's findings from influencing future cases.
The resolution of this long-running lawsuit removes a significant legal overhang related to the Dakota Access Pipeline's operational history. For Bakken operators and the state's oil industry, the pipeline remains a critical piece of infrastructure, transporting hundreds of thousands of barrels of crude daily from the Williston Basin to market.
The settlement represents a financial recovery for North Dakota taxpayers related to historic protest events. While the final dollar figure is not public, the state's pursuit of reimbursement highlights the substantial public costs associated with the high-profile protests that disrupted pipeline construction nearly a decade ago.
The Dakota Access Pipeline has been operating since 2017, but legal and political challenges surrounding its construction and permitting have persisted. This settlement specifically addresses state costs for law enforcement and cleanup, not ongoing legal debates about the pipeline's environmental permits or tribal consultations.
Source
Bing News reporting from the North Dakota Monitor.
